Understanding a Teenager’s Brain
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Why do some teenagers drink alcohol or engage in behaviors such as drinking and driving and sexual risk taking? It might be because of how their brain works. A new study compares brain activity in teenagers and young adults with the use of magnetic resonance imaging. The study shows adolescents have less brain activity than adults in brain regions that motivate behavior to obtain rewards.
Study authors say understanding brain activity is critical for shaping prevention messages that will deter bad behaviors. To better understand an adolescent’s brain, researchers in the Laboratory of Clinical Studies of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism conducted a study comparing MRIs of adolescents and young adults.
For the study, doctors scanned the brains of 12 adolescents ages 12 to 16 years old and 12 young adults ages 22 to 28 years old. While being scanned, the participants took part in a game-like scenario risking monetary gain or loss. The participants responded to targets on a screen by pressing a button to win or avoid losing 20 cents, $1 or $5.
Researchers report the anticipation of monetary gain activated four portions of the brain. However, the researchers found lower activation of a particular portion of the brain among adolescents. This portion of the brain has previously been shown to be crucial for motivating behavior toward the prospect of rewards.
Study authors say the research helps explain why so many adolescents have trouble achieving long-term goals. Researchers also say when they examined brain activity after a monetary gain, the brain activity was similar in adults and adolescents. This shows adolescents selectively show reduced recruitment of motivational but not consummatory components of reward-directed behavior.
SOURCE: The Journal of Neuroscience, 2004;24:1793-1802
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