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Postnatal penile growth concurrent with mini-puberty predicts later sex-typed play behavior: Evidence for neurobehavioral effects of the postnatal androgen surge in typically developing boys.


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Authors

Pasterski, Vickie 
Acerini, Carlo L 
Dunger, David B 
Ong, Ken K 
Hughes, Ieuan A 

Abstract

The masculinizing effects of prenatal androgens on human neurobehavioral development are well established. Also, the early postnatal surge of androgens in male infants, or mini-puberty, has been well documented and is known to influence physiological development, including penile growth. However, neurobehavioral effects of androgen exposure during mini-puberty are largely unknown. The main aim of the current study was to evaluate possible neurobehavioral consequences of mini-puberty by relating penile growth in the early postnatal period to subsequent behavior. Using multiple linear regression, we demonstrated that penile growth between birth and three months postnatal, concurrent with mini-puberty, significantly predicted increased masculine/decreased feminine behavior assessed using the Pre-school Activities Inventory (PSAI) in 81 healthy boys at 3 to 4years of age. When we controlled for other potential influences on masculine/feminine behavior and/or penile growth, including variance in androgen exposure prenatally and body growth postnally, the predictive value of penile growth in the early postnatal period persisted. More specifically, prenatal androgen exposure, reflected in the measurement of anogenital distance (AGD), and early postnatal androgen exposure, reflected in penile growth from birth to 3months, were significant predictors of increased masculine/decreased feminine behavior, with each accounting for unique variance. Our findings suggest that independent associations of PSAI with AGD at birth and with penile growth during mini-puberty reflect prenatal and early postnatal androgen exposures respectively. Thus, we provide a novel and readily available approach for assessing effects of early androgen exposures, as well as novel evidence that early postnatal aes human neurobehavioral development.

Description

Keywords

AGD, Androgens, Anogenital distance, Gender-related behavior, Mini-puberty, Penile growth, Sex differences, Sex-typed play, Adult, Androgens, Child Behavior, Child Development, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Female, Gender Identity, Humans, Infant, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Penis, Play and Playthings, Sexual Maturation

Journal Title

Horm Behav

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0018-506X
1095-6867

Volume Title

69

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12015/2)
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (via West Anglia Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN)) (11822)
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) via Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN) (UKCRN 15224)
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (via West Anglia Comprehensive Local Research Network (CLRN)) (UKCRN 11822)
Medical Research Council (G0600717)
Medical Research Council (G0600717/1)
We thank the participating families and the Cambridge Baby Growth Study team. Data were presented at Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, where suggestions were integrated into analyses. The study was supported by the European Union Fifth Framework Programme) (Grant #QLK4-CT-1999-01422, World Cancer Research Fund International, Mothercare Foundation, Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and Medical Research Council (UK). We also thank the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility and the National Institute for Health Research — Biomedical Research Centre Cambridge.