Commentary on the special issue on the adolescent brain: Adolescence, trajectories, and the importance of prevention

Abstract

Adolescence as highlighted in this special issue is a period of tremendous growth, synaptic exuberance, and plasticity, but also a period for the emergence of mental illness and addiction. This commentary aims to stimulate research on prevention science to reduce the impact of early life events that often manifest during adolescence. By promoting a better understanding of what creates a normal and abnormal trajectory, the reviews by van Duijvenvoorde et al., Kilford et al., Lichenstein et al., and Tottenham and Galvan in this special issue comprehensively describe how the adolescent brain develops under typical conditions and how this process can go awry in humans. Preclinical reviews also within this issue describe how adolescents have prolonged extinction periods to maximize learning about their environment (Baker et al.), whereas Schulz and Sisk focus on the importance of puberty and how it interacts with stress (Romeo). Caballero and Tseng then set the stage of describing the neural circuitry that is often central to these changes and psychopathology. Factors that affect the mis-wiring of the brain for illness, including prenatal exposure to anti-mitotic agents (Gomes et al.) and early life stress and inflammation (Schwarz and Brenhouse), are included as examples of how exposure to early adversity manifests. These reviews are synthesized and show how information from the maturational stages that precede or occur during adolescence is likely to hold the key towards optimizing development to produce an adolescent and adult that is resilient and well adapted to their environment.

Associations between objectively measured and self‐reported sleep with academic and cognitive performance in adolescents: DADOS study

“…Insufficient sleep duration and quality have emerged as critical indicators for physical and mental health, being associated with adverse health consequences such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular risk, cognitive diseases or cancer (Chaput et al., ; Owens, ). During adolescence, often viewed as an important time frame in terms of acquisition and development of academic and cognitive skills (Andersen, ; Patton & Viner, ), sleep might play a key role in memory consolidation, brain plasticity (Frank & Benington, ) and cognitive functioning (Shochat, Cohen‐Zion, & Tzischinsky, ; Wheaton, Chapman, & Croft, ). Likewise, sleep seems to be essential to achieve academic success, which is closely linked to future work achievement, wealth and health status (French, Homer, Popovici, & Robins, ).…”

Biospecimens and the ABCD study: Rationale, methods of collection, measurement and early data

“…Important to the ABCD project, behavioral risk factors begin to emerge during pubertal onset and do so in a sex-specific fashion, with an increased prevalence of SU and externalizing disorders in boys compared to girls ( Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 2009 ). Adolescence is a period of prolonged sensitivity to environmental factors, when the maturing central nervous system is particularly sensitive to insult ( Andersen, 2016b ). How SU impacts the relationships between pubertal onset, mental health, and neurodevelopment remain unclear, and is therefore an objective of the ABCD Study.…”

“…Puberty heralds the onset of adolescence, and the hormonal surges that occur during this period of time impact the ‘environment’ of the developing brain. Pubertal maturation influences trajectories of, and sex differences in, brain development and behavior (Herting et al, 2014, 2012; Neufang et al, 2009; Nguyen et al, 2013; Paus et al, 2010; Peper et al, 2009, 2011; Perrin et al, 2008; Spielberg et al, 2015), including SU during adolescence (Andersen, 2016a; La Grange et al, 1995; Tschann et al, 1994; Witt, 2007). While much has been discovered in the last decade about the impact of pubertal hormones on adolescent brain and cognitive development (for a review, see (Herting and Sowell, 2017)), much is yet to be learned, particularly in connection with resilience or risk for SU during adolescence, and related mental health problems.…”

Cortisol and testosterone in association with history of sexual abuse within incarcerated adolescent youth

“…In fact, many of the negative outcomes such as depression, alcohol and substance abuse, sexual health problems, eating disorders, and others, which contribute to the increase in disability and death occur during this sensitive period of development (Steinberg, 2014). The changes that occur at this time range from formation of new social groups and responsibilities, to maturation of brain regions implicated in emotion and reward (Steinberg, 2014;Andersen, 2016). The stress response and reproductive systems undergo maturation during this time as well.…”

“…The stress response and reproductive systems undergo maturation during this time as well. These significant environmental and biological changes increase vulnerability to psychopathology (Andersen, 2016;Gunnar, and Quevedo, 2007), among other negative outcomes such as obesity (Dietz, 1994). The malleability of different biological mechanisms that undergo maturation during this time suggests the importance of understanding the role of environment in biological formatting and shaping of developmental trajectories, especially for predicting health outcomes.…”