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Related Concept Videos

Cognitive Development During Adolescence01:18

Cognitive Development During Adolescence

During adolescence, individuals experience significant cognitive development that enhances their understanding of others' emotions and thoughts, known as cognitive empathy. This period is marked by an increased ability to adapt to others' perspectives and a more nuanced understanding of others' mental states, a skill that is foundational for social problem-solving and conflict avoidance. The development of cognitive empathy relies heavily on the theory of mind — the recognition that people have...
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification03:00

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence01:17

Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence

Erik Erikson's fifth stage of psychosocial development, "identity versus role confusion," is crucial during adolescence (ages 12 to 18). In this stage, adolescents face the developmental task of forging a distinct personal identity, a process influenced by social, psychological, and biological changes typical of this period. Adolescents naturally explore different roles, behaviors, and ideologies as they navigate complex questions of self-concept, asking, "Who am I?" and "What is my place in...
Timing and Consequences on Behavior01:08

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective. 
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Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena01:15

Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena

Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not necessarily...
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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It affects approximately 5-8% of children globally, with around 60-70% of cases persisting into adulthood. ADHD has significant implications for educational attainment, social interactions, and occupational success.
Diagnostic Criteria and Symptoms
To diagnose ADHD, symptoms must manifest before age 12 and be evident across multiple settings.

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Related Experiment Video

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Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL&#47;6 Male and Female Mice
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Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL/6 Male and Female Mice

Published on: March 15, 2024

Adolescent development of the reward system.

Adriana Galvan1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|February 25, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Adolescent brains show heightened striatal reward system activity, leading to increased reward-seeking behaviors. This review explores evidence supporting this hyper-responsive model in adolescent development.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Neuroimaging

Background:

  • Adolescence is marked by heightened reward-seeking behavior.
  • The striatum, crucial for reward processing, undergoes significant developmental changes.
  • Two hypotheses exist: striatal hypo-responsiveness vs. hyper-responsiveness to rewards during adolescence.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review evidence supporting the hyper-responsive striatal reward system during adolescence.
  • To reconcile disparate findings from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies.
  • To identify future research directions in adolescent reward processing.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing scientific literature.
  • Analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using reward paradigms.
Keywords:
adolescencebrain developmentrewardstriatum

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  • Synthesis of evidence supporting competing hypotheses.

    • Main Results:

    • The field has largely converged on the hyper-responsive striatal reward system hypothesis.
    • Evidence suggests adolescents exhibit greater striatal activation in response to rewards compared to adults.
    • Discrepancies in fMRI findings are acknowledged and discussed.

    Conclusions:

    • The adolescent striatal reward system is generally considered hyper-responsive.
    • This hyper-responsivity likely drives increased reward-seeking behaviors in adolescents.
    • Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complexities of adolescent reward processing.