The adolescent brain

Abstract

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by suboptimal decisions and actions that give rise to an increased incidence of unintentional injuries and violence, alcohol and drug abuse, unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Traditional neurobiological and cognitive explanations for adolescent behavior have failed to account for the nonlinear changes in behavior observed during adolescence, relative to childhood and adulthood. This review provides a biologically plausible conceptualization of the neural mechanisms underlying these nonlinear changes in behavior, as a heightened responsiveness to incentives while impulse control is still relatively immature during this period. Recent human imaging and animal studies provide a biological basis for this view, suggesting differential development of limbic reward systems relative to top-down control systems during adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood. This developmental pattern may be exacerbated in those adolescents with a predisposition toward risk-taking, increasing the risk for poor outcomes.

Development of Risk-Taking, Perspective-Taking, and Inhibitory Control During Adolescence

“…This paradox appears driven by the fact that social, reward and affective "hot" contexts influence adolescents' cognition and behaviour to a greater extent than is observed in adults (Albert, Chein, & Steinberg, 2013;Casey & Caudle, 2013). On the basis of such observations, it has been proposed that adolescents' risk-taking and susceptibility to peer influence may partly derive from differences in the maturational timecourse of the socio-emotional reward system and the cognitive control system in the brain (Albert et al, 2013;Casey et al, 2008).…”

“…Two decades of cognitive neuroscience research suggest that adolescence is associated with increasing use of top-down cognitive control skills, which allows adolescents to focus their attention and regulate their emotions and behaviour in order to achieve their goals (Crone & Dahl, 2012). However, adolescence is also associated with sub-optimal decisions and actions apparent in heightened substance abuse and mortality rates (Casey, Getz, & Galvan, 2008;Dahl, 2004;Steinberg, 2008; although see Willoughby, Good, Adachi, Hamza, & Tavernier, 2013). This paradox appears driven by the fact that social, reward and affective "hot" contexts influence adolescents' cognition and behaviour to a greater extent than is observed in adults (Albert, Chein, & Steinberg, 2013;Casey & Caudle, 2013).…”

“…As the cognitive control system is less mature this may increase risk-taking during adolescence; particularly when peers are present Casey et al, 2008;Steinberg, 2008) and working memory load is high. For example, in a driving simulation study 13-to 16-year-olds made more errors and showed increased orbito-frontal cortex activation, associated with risk/reward or affective processing, in the presence of peers, compared to adults, who exhibited greater PFC activity independent of the social context (Chein, Albert, O'Brian, Uckert, & Steinberg, 2011).…”

Diferencias en el funcionamiento neurocognitivo e impulsividad rasgo según el patrón de consumo de alcohol en jóvenes de 18 a 30 años

“…En efecto, desde la caracterización de la adolescencia como un periodo de "tormenta y tensión" que presentara Stanley Hall (1904), pasando por la proposición de una "adultez emergente" (Arnett, 2000), se han ido desarrollando miradas más complejas sobre los cambios que experimentan adolescentes y jóvenes. En ese sentido, por ejemplo, cabe mencionar los diferentes modelos de organización del cerebro adolescente y joven que se agrupan bajo la denominación de Modelos de Sistemas Duales (ver, por ejemplo: Casey, Getz, & Galván, 2008;Shulman et al, 2016). Estos modelos consideran que hay un desarrollo asimétrico entre las estructuras encargadas del procesamiento y del control cognitivo, y aquellas encargadas del procesamiento de información socioemocional (Steinberg, 2008).…”

The Effects of Resilience and Social Influences on Preventing Repeat Adolescent Pregnancies in Parenting Adolescent Mothers

“…According to Casey, Getz, and Galvan (2008), imaging studies have demonstrated that developmental maturation occurs in the brain of the adolescence. The authors purported that a more mature limbic system (pleasure seeking) and a less developed prefrontal cortex (controlling behaviors), while not seen as sole contributors to the impulsivity and high risk actions of adolescents may explain some of the activities of adolescents including unprotected sex resulting in unplanned pregnancies.…”