Cited by 125Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentChild and Animal Learning Development

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 38 of the 39 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 34 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Longitudinal Change in the Neural Bases of Adolescent Social Self-Evaluations: Effects of Age and Pubertal Development

Open access

Abstract

Self-evaluations undergo significant transformation during early adolescence, developing in parallel with the heightened complexity of teenagers' social worlds. Intuitive theories of adolescent development, based in part on animal work, suggest that puberty is associated with neural-level changes that facilitate a “social reorientation” (Nelson et al., 2005). However, direct tests of this hypothesis using neuroimaging are limited in humans. This longitudinal fMRI study examined neurodevelopmental trajectories associated with puberty, self-evaluations, and the presumed social reorientation during the transition from childhood to adolescence. Participants (N= 27, mean age = 10.1 and 13.1 years at time points one and two, respectively) engaged in trait evaluations of two targets (the self and a familiar fictional other), across two domains of competence (social and academic). Responses in ventromedial PFC increased with both age and pubertal development during self-evaluations in the social domain, but not in the academic domain. These results suggest that changes in social self-evaluations are intimately connected with biology, not just peer contexts, and provide important empirical support for the relationship between neurodevelopment, puberty, and social functioning.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a longitudinal fMRI study of 27 youths scanned at mean ages 10.1 and 13.1, ventral mPFC responses during self- versus other-evaluations increased with age, specifically in the social domain. Pubertal development, independent of age, was associated with this social-domain increase, supporting a neural component to adolescent social reorientation.

Key findings

  • Ventral mPFC [-9 45 -12, t = 4.5, k = 14] showed longitudinal increases from age 10 to 13 for self > other evaluations; this was the only region across the whole brain to show such increases.
  • The ventral mPFC increase was significant in the social domain (p = .0001) but marginal in the academic domain (p = .0556).
  • Pubertal development (PDS at age 13 controlling for PDS at age 10, residualized for age) correlated with increased ventral mPFC self > other response in the social domain (r(25) = 0.53, p < .005), but not academic domain (r(25) = 0.11, ns); these correlations differed (z = 2.25, p = .025).
  • Stable main effects: self > other engaged mPFC and ventral striatum; other > self engaged mPPC, lateral PFC, and TPJ.

Methods

  • Longitudinal fMRI with 27 neurotypical participants (18 female), no psychiatric, neurological, or learning disorders, scanned at T1 (M = 10.1, SD = 0.35) and T2 (M = 13.1, SD = 0.33).
  • Participants made trait evaluations of self and a familiar fictional other (Harry Potter) in social and academic domains; pubertal development was measured with the Pubertal Development Scale (PDS).
  • fMRI data acquired on Siemens Allegra 3T and analyzed in SPM8 using random effects; paired t-tests and a 2×2×2 ANOVA with Target (Self/Other), Domain (Social/Academic), and Age (T1/T2); results thresholded at p < .001, k = 10 voxels unless noted.

Limitations

  • Stated: the tight age range may attenuate the PDS-age correlation, and future studies should track both dorsal and ventral mPFC during self-evaluations to determine when each region peaks.
  • Evident: the sample is small (N = 27) and predominantly female (18 female), and pubertal development was self-reported via PDS; no explicit limitations section is included in the paper.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.4074-12.2013

Cites

38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

20 Not checked yet · 18 Own result · 6 Own method · 6 Own interpretation · 5 No basis given

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Show all 32 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 18
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 11
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Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • Consistentr(25) = 0.04reported n.s. · recomputed p = .843

    “r(25) = 0.04, ns”

  • Consistentr(25) = 0.53reported p < .005 · recomputed p = .004

    “r(25) = 0.53, p < .005”

  • Consistentr(25) = 0.11reported n.s. · recomputed p = .585

    “r(25) = 0.11, ns”

  • Consistentz = 2.25reported p = .025 · recomputed p = .024

    “(z = 2.25, p = .025”

4 of 4

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

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Citations

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Metadata

Authors
Pfeifer, J. H., Kahn, L. E., Merchant, J. S., Peake, S. J., Veroude, K., Masten, C. L., Lieberman, M. D., Mazziotta, J. C., & Dapretto, M.
Affiliations
  • University of Oregon (US)
  • Vanderbilt University (US)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2013-04-24
Volume
33
Issue
17
Pages
7415-7419
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2111384114
Cited by
125
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 2
FWCI
4.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (RR12169, RR13642)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (L40MH087356, F31MH075299)
  • National Center for Research Resources (P41RR013642, RR12169, RR 13642, RR00865, M01RR000865, C06RR012169)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (L40HD059442)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
Keywords
pubertal development, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, neural development, transition from childhood to adolescence, trait evaluation, social competence, academic competence, age effects
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Brain, Child, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Photic Stimulation, Puberty, Self-Assessment, Adolescent Development

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