Cognitive effects of variations in pubertal timing: Is puberty a period of brain organization for human sex-typed cognition?

Adriene M. Beltz; Sheri A. Berenbaum

doi:10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.04.002

Cognitive effects of variations in pubertal timing: Is puberty a period of brain organization for human sex-typed cognition?

Adriene M. Beltz, Sheri A. Berenbaum

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33 Scopus citations

Abstract

There is considerable interest in the organizational effects of pubertal sex hormones on human sex-related characteristics. Recent evidence from rodents suggests that there is a decreasing window of sensitivity to sex hormones throughout adolescence. If adolescence also represents a period of brain organization in human beings, then the timing of exposure to sex-typical hormones at puberty should have long-term effects on sex-typed characteristics: individuals with early timing should be more sex-typed than individuals with late timing. We tested this hypothesis in 320 young adults by relating their pubertal timing (retrospective comparison to peers) to cognitive abilities that show sex differences. Results provide partial support for the hypothesis. For men, pubertal timing was inversely related to scores on a test of three-dimensional mental rotations. Effects do not appear to be due to duration of hormone exposure (time since puberty), but other potential influences need further study.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	823-828
Number of pages	6
Journal	Hormones and Behavior
Volume	63
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.04.002
State	Published - May 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Endocrinology
Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Behavioral Neuroscience

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10.1016/j.yhbeh.2013.04.002

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title = "Cognitive effects of variations in pubertal timing: Is puberty a period of brain organization for human sex-typed cognition?",

abstract = "There is considerable interest in the organizational effects of pubertal sex hormones on human sex-related characteristics. Recent evidence from rodents suggests that there is a decreasing window of sensitivity to sex hormones throughout adolescence. If adolescence also represents a period of brain organization in human beings, then the timing of exposure to sex-typical hormones at puberty should have long-term effects on sex-typed characteristics: individuals with early timing should be more sex-typed than individuals with late timing. We tested this hypothesis in 320 young adults by relating their pubertal timing (retrospective comparison to peers) to cognitive abilities that show sex differences. Results provide partial support for the hypothesis. For men, pubertal timing was inversely related to scores on a test of three-dimensional mental rotations. Effects do not appear to be due to duration of hormone exposure (time since puberty), but other potential influences need further study.",

author = "Beltz, {Adriene M.} and Berenbaum, {Sheri A.}",

note = "Funding Information: Some of the data reported in this paper were presented at the 2012 meeting of the Society for Behavioral Neuroendocrinology. This research was supported in part by the Penn State Child Study Center . We thank the following people who contributed to this work: Rebecca Brooker helped develop the pubertal timing measure; Amy Kaplan oversaw data collection and helped with data management; Elizabeth Beckerman, Todd Cly, Michael Cook, Jessica Cooperstein, Carla Golden, Amanda White, and Yuxiao Zhang tested participants. We also thank the participants who made this research possible. Copyright: Copyright 2014 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

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Cognitive effects of variations in pubertal timing: Is puberty a period of brain organization for human sex-typed cognition?

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