Sex-Specific Development of the Human Brain

With the emergence of non-invasive methods like magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) and functional MRI (fMRI) there is growing evidence of maturationalchanges in both neuro-anatomical structures and neural activationpatterns. Developmental changes have been shown to last until adolescence.In study 1 we examined the impact of steroids on the developing brain andfound that amygdala and hippocampal as well as parietal volumes were associatedwith circulating testosterone levels. In the studies 2 to 5 we adresseddifferences in brain activation patterns of attention between childrenand adults where children were either normally developing children orchildren with ADHD. We found differences in the developmental trajectoriesin the fronto-striatal pathway between children with and without ADHD aswell as an increase in brain connectivity in a fronto- parietal network withadolescence. We conclude that the puberty might have organizational effectson the developing human brain which manifests itself in both brainstructure and function.