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Annals of the New York Academy of... 2008The context of adolescent development in which puberty occurs is briefly reviewed, along with the psychosocial impact on timing of puberty, girls' perception of puberty,... (Review)
Review
The context of adolescent development in which puberty occurs is briefly reviewed, along with the psychosocial impact on timing of puberty, girls' perception of puberty, and the impact of puberty on relationships with parents and on psychological health. This information can be integrated into clinical practice in order to provide the best care for adolescents, but, first, access to confidential and comprehensive care must be available.
Topics: Adolescent; Age Factors; Female; Humans; Psychology, Adolescent; Psychosexual Development; Puberty; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 18574206
DOI: 10.1196/annals.1429.011 -
Annals of the New York Academy of... Dec 2003The classical view of steroid-dependent organization of brain and behavior holds that gonadal steroid hormones, acting during an early critical period of development,... (Review)
Review
The classical view of steroid-dependent organization of brain and behavior holds that gonadal steroid hormones, acting during an early critical period of development, cause permanent structural changes in neural circuits that determine behavioral responses to hormones in adulthood. This classical view has been modified to incorporate evidence that organizational effects of steroids can occur outside of the established perinatal critical period and that multiple critical periods may exist during development. Experiments in this laboratory indicate that steroid-dependent organization of neural circuits underlying male social behaviors occurs during puberty. This work shows that adult-typical reproductive and flank marking behaviors cannot be activated by gonadal steroids in male Syrian hamsters prior to puberty, suggesting that developmentally timed processes during puberty render the nervous system responsive to activating effects of gonadal steroids in adulthood. Additional experiments demonstrate that the presence or absence of gonadal hormones during puberty is a major factor in the ability of steroids to activate reproductive and flank marking behavior in adult male hamsters and in androgen receptor expression within the neural circuit underlying these behaviors. Thus, gonadal hormones during puberty appear to exert long-lasting changes in neural circuits that are responsible for the programming of activational responses to steroids later in adulthood. A two-stage model for maturation of male social behaviors is proposed: a perinatal critical period for sexual differentiation of neural circuits, followed by the pubertal period, during which gonadal steroids further organize the circuits to enhance behavioral responsiveness to hormones in adulthood. Whether puberty is a critical period for the proposed second wave of steroid-dependent organization of behavioral circuits remains to be determined.
Topics: Animals; Female; Humans; Male; Nerve Net; Puberty; Receptors, Androgen; Sexual Maturation; Social Behavior
PubMed: 14993053
DOI: 10.1196/annals.1286.019 -
Soins. Gynecologie, Obstetrique,... Oct 1986
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Female; Humans; Male; Puberty; Puberty, Precocious
PubMed: 3646768
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Neuroendocrinology Mar 2003Puberty is the attainment of fertility -- the ability to reproduce. It occurs because our brains begin to secrete one key hormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone. This... (Review)
Review
Puberty is the attainment of fertility -- the ability to reproduce. It occurs because our brains begin to secrete one key hormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone. This causes the pituitary gland to induce maturation of the testis and the ovary, which then produce sex steroid hormones and mature sperm and eggs. We should be concerned that the age at which puberty begins is decreasing in many countries. Puberty starts when adequate growth and energy storage has occurred, so the earlier age of puberty may reflect recent increases in adolescent obesity resulting from more sedentary lifestyles.
Topics: Adolescent; Age Factors; Humans; Life Style; Psychophysiology; Puberty
PubMed: 12588522
DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2826.2003.01018.x -
The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society Jul 1987
Review
Topics: Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Female; Humans; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Puberty; Sexual Maturation
PubMed: 3306684
DOI: 10.1079/pns19870026 -
Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent... Jun 2006
Topics: Adolescent; Age Factors; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Puberty
PubMed: 16731407
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2006.02.001 -
Nature Reviews. Endocrinology Feb 2014In 2013, considerable progress was made towards deciphering the molecular foundations of puberty. Loss of transcriptional repression was identified as a core mechanism... (Review)
Review
In 2013, considerable progress was made towards deciphering the molecular foundations of puberty. Loss of transcriptional repression was identified as a core mechanism underlying the onset of puberty, and this loss was found to be precipitated by epigenetic cues. It was also discovered that nutritional deprivation delays puberty by repressing reproductive neuroendocrine function.
Topics: Adolescent; Animals; Epigenomics; Female; Humans; Male; Malnutrition; Models, Animal; Neurosecretory Systems; Puberty; Transcription, Genetic
PubMed: 24275741
DOI: 10.1038/nrendo.2013.233 -
Hormones and Behavior Jul 2013This article is part of a Special Issue "Puberty and Adolescence". Adolescence is characterized by a variety of behavioral alterations, including elevations in... (Review)
Review
This article is part of a Special Issue "Puberty and Adolescence". Adolescence is characterized by a variety of behavioral alterations, including elevations in novelty-seeking and experimentation with alcohol and other drugs of abuse. Some adolescent-typical neurobehavioral alterations may depend upon pubertal rises in gonadal hormones, whereas others may be unrelated to puberty. Using a variety of approaches, studies in laboratory animals have not revealed clear relationships between pubertal-related changes and adolescent- or adult-typical behaviors that are not strongly sexually dimorphic. Data reviewed suggest surprisingly modest influences of gonadal hormones on alcohol intake, alcohol preference and novelty-directed behaviors. Gonadectomy in males (but not females) increased ethanol intake in adulthood following surgery either pre-pubertally or in adulthood, with these increases in intake largely reversed by testosterone replacement in adulthood, supporting an activational role of androgens in moderating ethanol intake in males. In contrast, neither pre-pubertal nor adult gonadectomy influenced sensitivity to the social inhibitory or aversive effects of ethanol when indexed via conditioned taste aversions, although gonadectomy at either age altered the microstructure of social behavior of both males and females. Unexpectedly, the pre-pubertal surgical manipulation process itself was found to increase later ethanol intake, decrease sensitivity to ethanol's social inhibitory effects, attenuate novelty-directed behavior and lower social motivation, with gonadal hormones being necessary for these long-lasting effects of early surgical perturbations.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adult; Castration; Female; Gonadal Hormones; Humans; Male; Mental Disorders; Puberty
PubMed: 23998677
DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2012.11.012 -
Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of... Mar 1991Normal pubertal development is characterized by major physical alterations: sexual maturation, changes in body composition, and rapid skeletal growth. Breast development... (Review)
Review
Normal pubertal development is characterized by major physical alterations: sexual maturation, changes in body composition, and rapid skeletal growth. Breast development is the first manifestation of puberty in approximately 85% of girls; the normal age for initial breast development is 8 to 13 years. Menarche generally occurs within 2 years of the onset of breast development, with a mean age in American girls of 12.8 years. In boys, the first manifestation of puberty is testicular enlargement; the normal age for initial signs of puberty is 9 to 14 years in males. Pubic hair in boys generally appears 18 to 24 months after the onset of testicular growth and is often conceived as the initial marker of sexual maturation by male adolescents. Skeletal growth is one of the most striking characteristics of puberty. Linear-growth velocity begins to increase in males at genital stage III and pubic-hair stage II, but peak height velocity is not attained until age 14 years in boys and 12 years in girls. Lean body mass, which primarily reflects muscle mass, begins to increase during early puberty in both boys and girls. Fat mass increases during the late stages of puberty in girls. Sex differences in the adolescent growth spurt produce the characteristics sexual dimorphism in shape and proportions seen in young adults.
Topics: Adolescent; Body Composition; Bone Development; Breast; Female; Hair; Humans; Male; Menarche; Puberty; Testis
PubMed: 2029881
DOI: No ID Found -
Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) Jun 2024Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of medications that interrupt puberty, given the magnitude and complexity of changes that occur in brain function and... (Review)
Review
AIM
Concerns have been raised regarding the impact of medications that interrupt puberty, given the magnitude and complexity of changes that occur in brain function and structure during this sensitive window of neurodevelopment. This review examines the literature on the impact of pubertal suppression on cognitive and behavioural function in animals and humans.
METHODS
All studies reporting cognitive impacts of treatment with GnRH agonists/antagonists for pubertal suppression in animals or humans were sought via a systematic search strategy across the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases.
RESULTS
Sixteen studies were identified. In mammals, the neuropsychological impacts of puberty blockers are complex and often sex specific (nā=ā11 studies). There is no evidence that cognitive effects are fully reversible following discontinuation of treatment. No human studies have systematically explored the impact of these treatments on neuropsychological function with an adequate baseline and follow-up. There is some evidence of a detrimental impact of pubertal suppression on IQ in children.
CONCLUSION
Critical questions remain unanswered regarding the nature, extent and permanence of any arrested development of cognitive function associated with puberty blockers. The impact of puberal suppression on measures of neuropsychological function is an urgent research priority.
Topics: Humans; Puberty; Cognition; Animals; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; Child
PubMed: 38334046
DOI: 10.1111/apa.17150