| Title |
Adrenarche and Middle Childhood
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Human Nature, September 2011
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s12110-011-9120-x |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Benjamin C. Campbell |
| Abstract |
Middle childhood, the period from 6 to 12 years of age, is defined socially by increasing autonomy and emotional regulation, somatically by the development of anatomical structures for subsistence, and endocrinologically by adrenarche, the adrenal production of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Here I suggest that DHEA plays a key role in the coordinated development of the brain and body beginning with middle childhood, via energetic allocation. I argue that with adrenarche, increasing levels of circulating DHEA act to down-regulate the release of glucose into circulation and hence limit the supply of glucose which is needed by the brain for synaptogenesis. Furthermore, I suggest the antioxidant properties of DHEA may be important in maintaining synaptic plasticity throughout middle childhood within slow-developing areas of the cortex, including the insula, thamalus, and anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, DHEA may play a role in the development of body odor as a reliable social signal of behavioral changes associated with middle childhood. |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 73 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1 | 1% |
| France | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 71 | 97% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 13 | 18% |
| Student > Master | 9 | 12% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 8 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 7 | 10% |
| Professor | 4 | 5% |
| Other | 18 | 25% |
| Unknown | 14 | 19% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 17 | 23% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 13 | 18% |
| Social Sciences | 4 | 5% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 4 | 5% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 4 | 5% |
| Other | 9 | 12% |
| Unknown | 22 | 30% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 10. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 27 December 2011.
All research outputs
#2,927,857
of 22,727,570 outputs
Outputs from Human Nature
#205
of 509 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#15,318
of 125,704 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Human Nature
#2
of 5 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,727,570 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 86th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 509 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 31.3. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 58% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 125,704 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 87% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 5 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than 3 of them.