Response inhibition in adolescents is moderated by brain connectivity and social network structure

The social environment an individual is embedded in influences their ability and motivation to engage self-control processes, but little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying this effect. Many individuals successfully regulate their behavior even when they do not show strong activation in canonical self-control brain regions. Thus, individuals may rely on other resources to compensate, including daily experiences navigating and managing complex social relationships that likely bolster self-control processes. Here, we employed a network neuroscience approach to investigate the role of social context and social brain systems in facilitating self-control in adolescents. We measured brain activation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) as 62 adolescents completed a Go/No-Go response inhibition task. We found that self-referential brain systems compensate for weaker activation in executive function brain systems, especially for adolescents with more friends and more communities in their social networks. Collectively, our results indicate a critical role for self-referential brain systems during the developmental trajectory of self-control throughout adolescence.