Linking brain maturation and puberty during early adolescence using longitudinal brain age prediction in the ABCD cohort

Madelene C. Holm; Esten H. Leonardsen; Dani Beck; Andreas Dahl; Rikka Kjelkenes; Ann-Marie G. de Lange; Lars T. Westlye

Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (Apr 2023)

Linking brain maturation and puberty during early adolescence using longitudinal brain age prediction in the ABCD cohort

Madelene C. Holm,
Esten H. Leonardsen,
Dani Beck,
Andreas Dahl,
Rikka Kjelkenes,
Ann-Marie G. de Lange,
Lars T. Westlye

Affiliations

Madelene C. Holm: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Correspondence to: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Po Box 1094 Blindern, 0317 Oslo, Norway.
Esten H. Leonardsen: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Dani Beck: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Psychiatric Research, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Oslo, Norway
Andreas Dahl: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Rikka Kjelkenes: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Ann-Marie G. de Lange: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; LREN, Centre for Research in Neurosciences, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Lars T. Westlye: Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital & Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; KG Jebsen Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, University of Oslo, Norway

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 60
p. 101220

Abstract

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The temporal characteristics of adolescent neurodevelopment are shaped by a complex interplay of genetic, biological, and environmental factors. Using a large longitudinal dataset of children aged 9–13 from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study we tested the associations between pubertal status and brain maturation. Brain maturation was assessed using brain age prediction based on convolutional neural networks and minimally processed T1-weighted structural MRI data. Brain age prediction provided highly accurate and reliable estimates of individual age, with an overall mean absolute error of 0.7 and 1.4 years at the two timepoints respectively, and an intraclass correlation of 0.65. Linear mixed effects (LME) models accounting for age and sex showed that on average, a one unit increase in pubertal maturational level was associated with a 2.22 months higher brain age across time points (β = 0.10, p < .001). Moreover, annualized change in pubertal development was weakly related to the rate of change in brain age (β = .047, p = 0.04). These results demonstrate a link between sexual development and brain maturation in early adolescence, and provides a basis for further investigations of the complex sociobiological impacts of puberty on life outcomes.

Published in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

ISSN: 1878-9293 (Print); 1878-9307 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Science: Physiology: Neurophysiology and neuropsychology
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/developmental-cognitive-neuroscience/

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