Contextualizing adolescent structural brain development

Abstract

The spatiotemporal group-level patterns of brain macrostructural development across adolescence have over the past decades been relatively well documented. Efforts are now being directed towards understanding individual variability in brain development, as well as its causes and consequences. While genetic factors and pre- and perinatal events have critical impact on brain structural development, calls are now made to also study the brain in dynamic transactional interplay with the different aspects of an individual’s physical and social environment across all stages of development. Such a focus is highly relevant for research on adolescence, a period of life involving a multitude of contextual changes paralleled by continued refinement of complex cognitive and affective neural systems. Insights into the relations between environmental factors and adolescent brain development and the consequences for mental health, have the potential to provide valuable directions for policy changes and targets for prevention. Here, we discuss associations between selected aspects of an individual’s physical and social environment and adolescent brain structural development, and possible links to mental health. We also touch on methodological considerations for future research.

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

“…The effect sizes were moderate and comparable to previous studies using other neuroimaging-based outcomes to study the associations between brain structure and puberty (Vijakumar et al, 2021). Brain development during adolescence is likely shaped by an interaction of genetically programmed age-related changes, biological processes, and fluctuating environmental pressures (Fernandez-Cabello et al, 2022;Ferschmann et al, 2022). Combined with previous findings, our study shows that the effects of puberty are non-negligible and should be considered an influencing factor when studying adolescent brain development.…”

“…Brain development during adolescence is characterized by a highly coordinated sequence of both progressive (cell growth and myelination) and regressive (synaptic pruning) processes (Paus et al, 2008), observable as nonlinear trajectories of cortical thinning and white matter volume increase in relation to chronological age (Blakemore & Choudhury, 2006). The neurodevelopmental progress is most likely shaped by a complex interplay of genetic factors, changes in biological processes, and new environmental pressures (Fernandez-Cabello et al, 2022;Ferschmann et al, 2022). In parallel to brain development, adolescence is a period of drastic changes in physiological processes and body composition during puberty.…”

The midpoint of cortical thinning between late childhood and early adulthood differs between individuals and brain regions: Evidence from longitudinal modelling in a 12-wave neuroimaging sample

“…We found evidence for pronounced individual differences, with MCTs differing by several years between individuals. This supports the notion that brain maturation is highly variable 16,17,37 and invites questions of potential predictors and outcomes. We here investigated gender as a potential predictor of individual differences.…”

“…Future studies could use nonlinear mixed models in larger cohorts, such as ABCD 42 , to investigate the robustness of gender differences in maturation. Future studies could also investigate other candidate predictors such as environmental influences (e.g., adversity and education) to identify whether these accelerate or decelerate maturation – a yet unsolved conundrum in developmental science 16,17,37 . Investigations of potential outcomes of maturational differences, e.g., cognitive performance or psychiatric diagnosis, would be similarly fascinating, and could eventually include distal effects, such as cognitive and brain changes during ageing 1,43 .…”

Puberty differentially predicts brain maturation in male and female youth: A longitudinal ABCD Study

“…In conjunction to pubertal development, the brain shows continued tissue-specific changes that are prone to influence by fluctuating environmental pressures (Ferschmann et al, 2022;Tooley et al, 2021) beyond the complex genetic contribution (Grasby et al, 2020).…”