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The Dual Systems Model: Review, Reappraisal, and Reaffirmation
Adolescent risk-taking is linked to different brain systems developing at different rates. A system seeking rewards matures earlier than the system controlling impulses, contributing to risky behaviors during these years.
The Neurobiology of the Emotional Adolescent: From the Inside Out
Adolescent emotional lives are complex, shaped by hormonal changes, brain development, and evolving social relationships. Research shows three main connections between neurobiology and emotions in adolescence.
Psychological Mechanisms Mediating Effects Between Trauma and Psychotic Symptoms: The Role of Affect Regulation, Intrusive Trauma Memory, Beliefs, and Depression
The article finds a strong, consistent link between childhood victimization and psychosis.
Adolescent Impatience Decreases with Increased Frontostriatal Connectivity
Adolescence is a period of increased impulsivity, which is essential for developing adult skills but also linked to risky behaviors.
Age Differences in the Impact of Peers on Adolescents' and Adults' Neural Response to Reward
Adolescents take more risks when peers are present, even without direct peer pressure. Research suggests this peer effect in adolescents is linked to heightened reward sensitivity, impacting how their brains process rewards.
Beyond Simple Models of Self-control to Circuit-based Accounts of Adolescent Behavior
The teen brain isn't "defective" but is shaped by biology and experiences during adolescence. This period sees high sensation-seeking and increased mental health issues, driven by complex developmental changes.
Brain Science and the Theory of Juvenile Mens Rea
This article argues that the legal standard for mental state in criminal law should be updated for juvenile offenders. It suggests considering scientific evidence about how adolescents' brains differ from adults'.
Family Income, Parental Education and Brain Structure in Children and Adolescents
Parental education is linked to larger cortical surface area in children. This association holds true regardless of the child's age or genetic background.
Multiple Accounts of Adolescent Impulsivity
Adolescents are more likely than adults to choose smaller, immediate rewards over larger, later ones. This study suggests that differences in brain development, specifically connectivity, influence this inclination towards impatience.
Neurocognitive Bases of Emotion Regulation Development in Adolescence
Adolescence is a critical period for developing emotion regulation skills due to ongoing brain development and increased emotional challenges. This phase presents an opportunity for interventions to improve long-term mental health.
Stereotype Threat and Racial Differences in Citizens’ Experiences of Police Encounters
Research shows that African Americans experience stereotype threat in interactions with police. This threat can lead to behaviors police misinterpret as suspicious, potentially increasing false accusations and confessions.
The Neuroscience of Adolescent Decision-Making
Adolescent decision-making is shaped by brain development and is a focus of research using neuroeconomic approaches. Understanding these changes can help promote adolescent health.
Development During Adolescence of the Neural Processing of Social Emotion
Adolescence involves profound changes in social behavior and awareness. Brain areas involved in social cognition, like the prefrontal cortex, show developmental changes in activity between adolescence and adulthood.
Who Are Those 'Risk-Taking Adolescents'? Individual Differences in Developmental Neuroimaging Research
Brain research suggests that a common theory about adolescent risk-taking, which points to an imbalance in brain activity, applies mainly to youth with disruptive behavior disorders, not neurotypical teens.
Adolescence as a Sensitive Period of Brain Development
Brain plasticity, the ability to adapt, is heightened during "sensitive periods" in early life. Studies show that early deprivation can have lasting effects, but some recovery is possible even outside these periods.