As kids enter teens, their brain ups ability to resist risky behaviour
March 10th, 2011 - 12:12 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Mar 10 (ANI): A new study shows that as children begin entering adolescence, their brain heightens the ability to resist risky behaviour.
The study from three West Coast institutions provides scientists with basic insight about the brain’s wiring, rather than direct clinical relevance for now.
In the study, 24 girls and 14 boys from ethnically and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans twice, at ages 10 and 13, the latter representing when children have moved into early adolescence.
Each time, they were presented with photos of faces making neutral, angry, fearful, happy and sad emotional expressions.
FMRI scans revealed the most enhanced response in the ventral striatum, a brain region most frequently associated with reward-related processing. Over time, increases in brain activity there correlated with increases in children’s resistance to peer influence.
“This is a complex point, because people tend to think of adolescence as the time when teenagers are really susceptible to peer pressure,” said Jennifer H. Pfeifer at University of Oregon.
“That is the case, but in addition to that added susceptibility they are also improving their ability to resist it. It’s just that peer pressure is increasing because they spend a lot more time with peers during this time and less time with family. So it is a good thing that resistance to such influences is actually strengthening in their brains.”
“This is basic research that hopefully is laying the foundation for future studies with even more clinical relevance,” said Pfeifer
Based on results of the new study, she added, “I think what we know about the ventral striatum may be poised to undergo a transformation over the next several years.”
The findings are detailed in the March 10 issue of the journal Neuron. (ANI)
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Tags: adolescence, brain activity, brain region, clinical relevance, complex point, emotional expressions, fmri, functional magnetic resonance, functional magnetic resonance imaging, future studies, laying the foundation, magnetic resonance imaging, neuron, pfeifer, risky behaviour, time increases, time with family, university of oregon, ups, ventral striatum