TY - JOUR
T1 - Restructuring of amygdala subregion apportion across adolescence
AU - Campbell, Claire E.
AU - Mezher, Adam F.
AU - Eckel, Sandrah P.
AU - Tyszka, J. Michael
AU - Pauli, Wolfgang M.
AU - Nagel, Bonnie J.
AU - Herting, Megan M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - Total amygdala volumes develop in association with sex and puberty, and postmortem studies find neuronal numbers increase in a nuclei specific fashion across development. Thus, amygdala subregions and composition may evolve with age. Our goal was to examine if amygdala subregion absolute volumes and/or relative proportion varies as a function of age, sex, or puberty in a large sample of typically developing adolescents (N = 408, 43 % female, 10–17 years). Utilizing the in vivo CIT168 atlas, we quantified 9 subregions and implemented Generalized Additive Mixed Models to capture potential non-linear associations with age and pubertal status between sexes. Only males showed significant age associations with the basolateral ventral and paralaminar subdivision (BLVPL), central nucleus (CEN), and amygdala transition area (ATA). Again, only males showed relative differences in the proportion of the BLVPL, CEN, ATA, along with lateral (LA) and amygdalostriatal transition area (ASTA), with age. Using a best-fit modeling approach, age, and not puberty, was found to drive these associations. The results suggest that amygdala subregions show unique variations with age in males across adolescence. Future research is warranted to determine if our findings may contribute to sex differences in mental health that emerge across adolescence.
AB - Total amygdala volumes develop in association with sex and puberty, and postmortem studies find neuronal numbers increase in a nuclei specific fashion across development. Thus, amygdala subregions and composition may evolve with age. Our goal was to examine if amygdala subregion absolute volumes and/or relative proportion varies as a function of age, sex, or puberty in a large sample of typically developing adolescents (N = 408, 43 % female, 10–17 years). Utilizing the in vivo CIT168 atlas, we quantified 9 subregions and implemented Generalized Additive Mixed Models to capture potential non-linear associations with age and pubertal status between sexes. Only males showed significant age associations with the basolateral ventral and paralaminar subdivision (BLVPL), central nucleus (CEN), and amygdala transition area (ATA). Again, only males showed relative differences in the proportion of the BLVPL, CEN, ATA, along with lateral (LA) and amygdalostriatal transition area (ASTA), with age. Using a best-fit modeling approach, age, and not puberty, was found to drive these associations. The results suggest that amygdala subregions show unique variations with age in males across adolescence. Future research is warranted to determine if our findings may contribute to sex differences in mental health that emerge across adolescence.
KW - Adolescent
KW - Amygdala
KW - Basolateral nuclear complex
KW - Central amygdaloid nucleus
KW - Corticomedial nuclear complex
KW - Puberty
KW - Sex characteristics
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U2 - 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100883
DO - 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100883
M3 - Article
C2 - 33476872
AN - SCOPUS:85099557474
SN - 1878-9293
VL - 48
JO - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
JF - Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
M1 - 100883
ER -