Puberty is a complex developmental event, controlled by sophisticated regulatory networks that integrate peripheral and internal cues and impinge at the brain centers driving the reproductive axis. The tempo of puberty is genetically determined but is also sensitive to numerous modifiers, from metabolic and sex steroid signals to environmental factors. Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that the onset of puberty is advancing in humans, through as yet unknown mechanisms. In fact, while much knowledge has been gleaned recently on the mechanisms responsible for the control of mammalian puberty, fundamental questions regarding the intimate molecular and neuroendocrine pathways responsible for the precise timing of puberty and its deviations remain unsolved.

中文翻译：

---

解开青春期：新型的神经内分泌途径和控制哺乳动物青春期的机制

青春期是一个复杂的发育事件，由复杂的调节网络控制，该网络将外围和内部提示整合在一起，并撞击驱动生殖轴的大脑中心。青春期的节奏是由基因决定的，但对许多修饰因子（从代谢和性类固醇信号到环境因素）也很敏感。最近的流行病学证据表明，通过尚未发现的机制，青春期正在人类中发展。实际上，尽管最近已掌握了控制哺乳动物青春期的机制的许多知识，但有关负责青春期精确时机及其偏差的紧密分子和神经内分泌途径的基本问题仍未解决。