Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youth

Anxiety disorders affect 31.1 % of U.S. adults, with females exhibiting twice the prevalence of males. While sex differences are well-documented, underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Advanced pubertal status is linked to increased anxiety symptoms in females but not males, suggesting puberty contri...

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Main Authors: Sneha Bhargava, Clara G. Zundel, MacKenna Shampine, Samantha Ely, Carmen Carpenter, Jennifer Losiowski, Shravya Chanamolu, Jovan Jande, Reem Tamimi, Kamakashi Sharma, Emilie O’Mara, Alaina M. Jaster, Hilary A. Marusak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-10-01
Series:Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000908
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author Sneha Bhargava
Clara G. Zundel
MacKenna Shampine
Samantha Ely
Carmen Carpenter
Jennifer Losiowski
Shravya Chanamolu
Jovan Jande
Reem Tamimi
Kamakashi Sharma
Emilie O’Mara
Alaina M. Jaster
Hilary A. Marusak
author_facet Sneha Bhargava
Clara G. Zundel
MacKenna Shampine
Samantha Ely
Carmen Carpenter
Jennifer Losiowski
Shravya Chanamolu
Jovan Jande
Reem Tamimi
Kamakashi Sharma
Emilie O’Mara
Alaina M. Jaster
Hilary A. Marusak
author_sort Sneha Bhargava
collection DOAJ
description Anxiety disorders affect 31.1 % of U.S. adults, with females exhibiting twice the prevalence of males. While sex differences are well-documented, underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Advanced pubertal status is linked to increased anxiety symptoms in females but not males, suggesting puberty contributes to sex differences in fear-based disorders. Deficits in fear extinction and retention are implicated in anxiety, and prior research suggests sex hormones influence extinction retention. This study examined sex assigned at birth (parent-reported) and pubertal status (self-reported) on extinction retention in 101 youth (47.5 % female) using a Pavlovian fear extinction paradigm. Measures included self-reported anxiety symptoms, extinction retention, and neural activation in the amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 1878-9293
language English
publishDate 2025-10-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-7cfca53b53e94ee6aefe061cccb797c82025-08-20T03:28:43ZengElsevierDevelopmental Cognitive Neuroscience1878-92932025-10-017510159510.1016/j.dcn.2025.101595Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youthSneha Bhargava0Clara G. Zundel1MacKenna Shampine2Samantha Ely3Carmen Carpenter4Jennifer Losiowski5Shravya Chanamolu6Jovan Jande7Reem Tamimi8Kamakashi Sharma9Emilie O’Mara10Alaina M. Jaster11Hilary A. Marusak12Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development Wayne State University, 71 East Ferry Street, Detroit, MI 48202, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USAMichigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, 965 Wilson Rd, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USADepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3901 Chrysler Service Dr, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child and Family Development Wayne State University, 71 East Ferry Street, Detroit, MI 48202, USA; Department of Pharmacology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 540 E Canfield St, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; Correspondence to: 3901 Chrysler Service Dr., Suite 2B, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.Anxiety disorders affect 31.1 % of U.S. adults, with females exhibiting twice the prevalence of males. While sex differences are well-documented, underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Advanced pubertal status is linked to increased anxiety symptoms in females but not males, suggesting puberty contributes to sex differences in fear-based disorders. Deficits in fear extinction and retention are implicated in anxiety, and prior research suggests sex hormones influence extinction retention. This study examined sex assigned at birth (parent-reported) and pubertal status (self-reported) on extinction retention in 101 youth (47.5 % female) using a Pavlovian fear extinction paradigm. Measures included self-reported anxiety symptoms, extinction retention, and neural activation in the amygdala, hippocampus, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000908AdolescenceFMRIFear extinctionFear learningFear conditioningChildren
spellingShingle Sneha Bhargava
Clara G. Zundel
MacKenna Shampine
Samantha Ely
Carmen Carpenter
Jennifer Losiowski
Shravya Chanamolu
Jovan Jande
Reem Tamimi
Kamakashi Sharma
Emilie O’Mara
Alaina M. Jaster
Hilary A. Marusak
Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youth
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Adolescence
FMRI
Fear extinction
Fear learning
Fear conditioning
Children
title Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youth
title_full Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youth
title_fullStr Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youth
title_full_unstemmed Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youth
title_short Puberty, sex, and fear extinction retention: A neuroimaging study in youth
title_sort puberty sex and fear extinction retention a neuroimaging study in youth
topic Adolescence
FMRI
Fear extinction
Fear learning
Fear conditioning
Children
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000908
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