Brain network connectivity during peer evaluation in adolescent females: Associations with age, pubertal hormones, timing, and status

Despite copious data linking brain function with changes to social behavior and mental health, little is known about how puberty relates to brain functioning. We investigated the specificity of brain network connectivity associations with pubertal indices and age to inform neurodevelopmental models of adolescence. We examined how brain network connectivity during a peer evaluation fMRI task related to pubertal hormones (dehydroepiandrosterone and testosterone), pubertal timing and status, and age. Participants were 99 adolescents assigned female at birth aged 9–15 (M = 12.38, SD = 1.81) enriched for the presence of internalizing symptoms. Multivariate analysis revealed that within Salience, between Frontoparietal – Reward and Cinguloopercular – Reward network connectivity were associated with all measures of pubertal development and age. Specifically, Salience connectivity linked with age, pubertal hormones, and status, but not timing. In contrast, Frontoparietal – Reward connectivity was only associated with hormones. Finally, Cinguloopercular – Reward connectivity related to age and pubertal status, but not hormones or timing. These results provide evidence that the salience processing underlying peer evaluation is jointly influenced by various indices of puberty and age, while coordination between cognitive control and reward circuitry is related to pubertal hormones, pubertal status, and age in unique ways.