Effects of social rank and pubertal delay on brain structure in female rhesus macaques.

ABSTRACT: Adverse social experience during childhood and adolescence leads to developmental alterations in emotional and stress regulation and underlying neurocircuits. We examined the consequences of social subordination (low social rank) in juvenile female rhesus monkeys, as an ethologically valid model of chronic social stressor exposure, on brain structural and behavioral development through the pubertal transition. Adolescence is a developmental period of extensive brain remodeling and increased emotional and stress reactivity. Puberty-induced increases in gonadal hormones, particularly estradiol (E2), are likely involved due to its organizational effects on the brain and behavior. Thus, we also examined how experimentally delaying pubertal onset with Lupron (gonadotropin releasing hormone -GnR

SUBMITTER: Godfrey JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9931669 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature