Mapping sex-specific hormone–metabolite coupling in the adolescent brain: a longitudinal whole-brain spectroscopic imaging study

Studied

An observational study tracked associations between blood steroid hormones and brain chemistry during adolescence.

Who / model

Forty-two healthy adolescents aged 13–15, including 24 girls, contributed 100 brain-scan visits and repeated hormone measurements. Total follow-up duration is not stated.

Studied dose & schedule

Dose and schedule have not yet been extracted for this summary.

Found

In boys, rising testosterone tracked increases in frontal glutamate/glutamine and a neuronal metabolic marker. In girls, higher average estradiol correlated with more frontal choline compounds. Cortisone-related associations differed by sex. These are associations, not demonstrated hormone-treatment effects.

Limits

Study limitations were not stated in the abstract. Methodological quality has not been appraised.

Read summary source ↗ · Prepared 9/15/2026 · AI-assisted, source-based summary