Puberty is the period of sexual maturation and achievement of fertility. The time when puberty begins varies greatly among individuals; however, puberty usually occurs in girls between the ages of 10 and 14 and between the ages of 12 and 16 in boys. Study shows that girls hit puberty earlier and suffer significant changes in their brains, if they have been touched intimately.
Researchers at the Bernstein Center, and Humboldt University, Berlin, led by Constanze Lenschow and Michael Brecht, reported that sexual touch might have a bigger influence on puberty than previously thought. It has been known for some time that social cues can either accelerate or delay puberty in mammals, but it hasn't been clear which signals are crucial, nor how they affect the body and brain, and in particular the possible reorganization of the brain. The researchers first observed that the neural representation of the genitals in the cerebral cortex expands during puberty.
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To begin with, the study confirms what was expected; that sexual hormones accelerate puberty and the growth of the so-called 'genital cortex.' However, what's new is that they find that sexual touch also contributes substantially to the acceleration of puberty. During their study, the scientists first put young female rats together with male rats and found that the genital cortex expanded as a result. This didn't happen when the females were housed with other females, or if the males were separated from them by wire mesh, thereby preventing direct contact.
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Our results help to understand why the perception of our body changes so much during puberty." Thus, changes of the body and the concurrent changes in the brain during puberty are not merely a matter of hormones - they are also co-determined by sexual experience. The study is published in the open access journal PLOS Biology.
Source: ANI
Low Socio-Economic Children Experience Puberty Early
Children who live in poorer homes are more likely to attain puberty at an early stage. It could be due to the dangerous environment that they are living in.
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