This may be particularly true in adolescence as greater sex hormone production may be associated with greater alcohol use in adolescence (Braams, Peper, Van Der Heide, Peters, & Crone, 2016; Westling, Andrews, Hampson, & Peterson, 2008). Higher testosterone and estradiol production has also been linked to earlier initiation of drinking in adolescence, particularly in boys (de Water, Braams, Crone, & Peper, 2013), and this relationship may have an impact on brain connectivity. For example, functional connectivity between the amygdala and OFC may be disrupted by testosterone in adolescent alcohol use. Lower functional connectivity between the amygdala and OFC was associated with higher recent and lifetime alcohol consumption, an effect modulated by testosterone levels in boys only (Peters, Jolles, Van Duijvenvoorde, Crone, & Peper, 2015). In other words, higher testosterone levels were associated with lower amygdala-OFC connectivity and increased alcohol use in boys. Findings were not significant for girls even when controlling for contraceptive use (Peters et al., 2015). A subsequent study by the same group found no SG differences in amygdala-OFC connectivity or alcohol use in a larger sample of
