Sex differences in the effects of gonadal hormones on white matter microstructure development in adolescence

Abstract Adolescence is characterized by rapid brain development in white matter (WM) that is attributed in part to surges in gonadal hormones. To date, however, there have been few longitudinal investigations relating changes in gonadal hormones and WM development in adolescents. We acquired diffusion-weighted MRI to estimate mean fractional anisotropy (FA) from 10 WM tracts and salivary testosterone from 51 females and 29 males (ages 9–14 years) who were matched on pubertal stage and followed, on average, for 2 years. We tested whether interactions between sex and changes in testosterone levels significantly explained changes in FA. We found positive associations between changes in testosterone and changes in FA within the corpus callosum, cingulum cingulate, and corticospinal tract in females (all ps