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Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified), Open
Journal article
Patterns of neuroendocrine coupling in 9-year-old children: Effects of sex, body-mass index, and life stress
Biological psychology, v 132, pp 252-259
01 Feb 2018
PMCID: PMC5801078
PMID: 29155118
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
•Positive hormone coupling is evident in adrenarcheal children.•Body mass index strengthens the magnitude of these hormone relationships.•Stressful life events alter hormone coupling patterns in girls, but not boys.
Previous investigations have explored stress and pubertal hormones in parallel; it has been a recent development, however, to explore the relationships between different hormones during puberty, and how this hormonal cross-talk may be influenced by the environment. The current study investigated neuroendocrine coupling, or the extent to which hormones are correlated within the individual, and also investigated early life stressors that may influence coupling. Participants were 405 adrenarcheal children (mean Tanner stage=1.73 for girls and 1.38 for boys) from a longitudinal study who provided saliva samples for analysis of cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and testosterone. Saliva was collected when children were 9-years-old, while early life stressors were assessed at each longitudinal assessment (ages 3, 6, and 9). Results from multi-level modeling (MLM) analyses provided evidence of positive cortisol-dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and cortisol-testosterone coupling in middle childhood, and identified body mass index as a predictor of the strength of hormone coordination. While exposure to stressful life events did not impact cortisol-DHEA coupling patterns, stress interacted with sex to predict looser cortisol-testosterone coupling in girls, but not boys. The current study adds to the existing literature on the development of neuroendocrine coupling, and provided further evidence of sex differences in the impact of stress. Furthermore, hormone coupling may be investigated in the future as a mechanism by which puberty is associated with negative behavioral outcomes.
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Details
- Title
- Patterns of neuroendocrine coupling in 9-year-old children: Effects of sex, body-mass index, and life stress
- Creators
- Sarah R. Black - The Ohio State University Wexner Medical CenterMatthew D. Lerner - Stony Brook UniversityElizabeth A. Shirtcliff - Iowa State UniversityDaniel N. Klein - Stony Brook University
- Publication Details
- Biological psychology, v 132, pp 252-259
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- A.J. Drexel Autism Institute
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000425089000028
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85035123249
- Other Identifier
- 991021861648804721
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Behavioral Sciences
- Psychology
- Psychology, Biological
- Psychology, Experimental