Dissociation of Puberty and Adolescent Social Development in a Seasonally Breeding Species.

ABSTRACT: Alongside the development of sexual characteristics and reproductive competence, adolescents undergo marked cognitive, social, and emotional development [1]. A fundamental question is whether these changes are triggered by activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis at puberty (puberty dependent) or whether they occur independently of HPG activation (puberty independent). Disentangling puberty-dependent from puberty-independent mechanisms is difficult because puberty and adolescence typically proceed concurrently. Here, we test a new approach that leverages natural adaptations of a seasonally breeding species to dissociate pubertal status from chronological age. Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) reared in a long, summer-like day length (LD) exhibit rapid pubertal develo

SUBMITTER: Paul MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5882557 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature