The Speed of Development of Adolescent Brain Age Depends on Sex and Is Genetically Determined.

Cereb Cortex

Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, 3584 CX Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Published: January 2021

Children and adolescents show high variability in brain development. Brain age-the estimated biological age of an individual brain-can be used to index developmental stage. In a longitudinal sample of adolescents (age 9-23 years), including monozygotic and dizygotic twins and their siblings, structural magnetic resonance imaging scans (N = 673) at 3 time points were acquired. Using brain morphology data of different types and at different spatial scales, brain age predictors were trained and validated. Differences in brain age between males and females were assessed and the heritability of individual variation in brain age gaps was calculated. On average, females were ahead of males by at most 1 year, but similar aging patterns were found for both sexes. The difference between brain age and chronological age was heritable, as was the change in brain age gap over time. In conclusion, females and males show similar developmental ("aging") patterns but, on average, females pass through this development earlier. Reliable brain age predictors may be used to detect (extreme) deviations in developmental state of the brain early, possibly indicating aberrant development as a sign of risk of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8204942PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaa296DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

brain age
28
brain
11
age
10
age predictors
8
average females
8
speed development
4
development adolescent
4
adolescent brain
4
age depends
4
depends sex
4

Similar Publications

Is Intracranial Pressure Monitoring After Open Cranial Procedures Associated With Outcome?

J Surg Res

January 2025

Division of Trauma and Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Reading Hospital, West Reading, Pennsylvania. Electronic address:

Introduction: It is unclear if intracranial pressure monitoring (ICPM) after open cranial procedures (craniotomy or craniectomy) (OC) for traumatic brain injury is associated with mortality. We hypothesized that ICPM placed early after OC was associated with lower mortality compared to no ICPM or delayed ICPM placement.

Methods: Using 2020-2021 data from the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program, patients ≥16 y from level 1 and 2 trauma centers who underwent OC were divided into two groups: ICPM placed within 72 h of OC (early) and no ICPM or ICPM placed after 72 h (none/delayed).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyloid-β (Aβ) triggers the aggregation and spreading of tau pathology, which drives neurodegeneration and cognitive decline. However, the pathophysiological link between Aβ and tau remains unclear, which hinders therapeutic efforts to attenuate Aβ-related tau accumulation. Aβ has been found to trigger neuronal hyperactivity and hyperconnectivity, and preclinical research has shown that tau spreads across connected neurons in an activity-dependent manner.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated a greater risk of dementia in female veterans compared to civilians; with the highest prevalence noted for former service women with a diagnosis of psychiatric (trauma, alcoholism, depression), and/or a physical health condition (brain injury, insomnia, diabetes). Such findings highlight the need for increased and early screening of medical and psychiatric conditions, and indeed dementia, in the female veteran population. Further, they call for a better understanding of the underlying biopsychosocial mechanisms that might confer heightened risk for female veterans, to tailor preventative and interventional strategies that support brain health across the lifespan.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objective: One of the functions attributed to the auditory efferent system is related to the processing of acoustic stimuli in noise backgrounds. However, clinical implications and the neurophysiological mechanisms of this system are not yet understood, especially on higher regions of the central nervous system. Only a few researchers studied the effects of noise on cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEP), but the lack of studies in this area and the contradictory results, especially in children, point to the need to investigate different protocols and parameters that could allow the study of top-down activity in humans.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cerebral Microbleeds and Amyloid Pathology Estimates From the Amyloid Biomarker Study.

JAMA Netw Open

January 2025

Alzheimer Center Limburg, Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Importance: Baseline cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) and APOE ε4 allele copy number are important risk factors for amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) receiving therapies to lower amyloid-β plaque levels.

Objective: To provide prevalence estimates of any, no more than 4, or fewer than 2 CMBs in association with amyloid status, APOE ε4 copy number, and age.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study used data included in the Amyloid Biomarker Study data pooling initiative (January 1, 2012, to the present [data collection is ongoing]).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!