Negative Emotionality and Epigenetics During Puberty
Recruiting now
Conditions studied: Puberty, Healthy, Stress
In brief
Pubertal transition leads to enduring neuroendocrine changes along with changes in the epigenome. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders significantly increases in females compared to males after puberty. There is likely to be an interaction between epigenetics, hormones and neurophysiological processes during puberty, leading to the increased prevalence of mental disorders in females. This study aims to shed light on these interactions underlying the emerging sex differences after puberty. Specifically, it seeks to investigate the epigenetic modifications and subsequent changes in gene expression during the pubertal transition and their association with negative emotionality (e.g., acute stress response and depressive symptoms) at molecular, neuronal, subjective and physiological levels.
Key facts
- Study ID
- NCT06690866
- Run by
- International Research Training Group 2804
- People needed
- 100
- Starts
- 2024-03-26
- Expected to finish
- 2026-04-01
- Last updated by the study team
- 2024-11-15
Who can join
Age: 8 and older, up to 17. Sex: female. Healthy volunteers: accepted.
You may qualify if…
- healthy girls
- aged between 8-10 and having pubertal stage 1 or between 15-17 and having pubertal stage 5
- normal body mass index according to age (between 5th and 85th percentile)
- non-smoking
- German language fluency
- Attending age-appropriate schools
You may not qualify if…
- neurological or psychiatric disease
- medical problems such as hormonal, metabolic, developmental or chronic diseases (e.g., congenital disorders, precocious puberty, polycystic ovarian syndrome, diabetes or congestive heart failure)
- any kind of hormonal, pharmacological or psychotropic treatment in the last three months
- engaging in competitive/extreme sports
- Additional exclusion criteria for MRI:
- People with non-removable metal objects on or in the body
- Tattoos (if not MRI-incompatible according to expert guidelines)
- Pathological hearing or increased sensitivity to loud noises
- Claustrophobia
- Surgery less than three months ago
- Moderate or severe head injury
Where it is running
- University of Tuebingen; Department of Psychiatry & Psychotherapy; Tuebingen — Tübingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany (enrolling)
Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov
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