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Parr AC, Sydnor VJ, Calabro FJ, Luna B. Adolescent-to-adult gains in cognitive flexibility are adaptively supported by reward sensitivity, exploration, and neural variability. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2024; 58:101399. [PMID: 38826569 PMCID: PMC11138371 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility exhibits dynamic changes throughout development, with different forms of flexibility showing dissociable developmental trajectories. In this review, we propose that an adolescent-specific mode of flexibility in the face of changing environmental contingencies supports the emergence of adolescent-to-adult gains in cognitive shifting efficiency. We first describe how cognitive shifting abilities monotonically improve from childhood to adulthood, accompanied by increases in brain state flexibility, neural variability, and excitatory/inhibitory balance. We next summarize evidence supporting the existence of a dopamine-driven, adolescent peak in flexible behavior that results in reward seeking, undirected exploration, and environmental sampling. We propose a neurodevelopmental framework that relates these adolescent behaviors to the refinement of neural phenotypes relevant to mature cognitive flexibility, and thus highlight the importance of the adolescent period in fostering healthy neurocognitive trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley C. Parr
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA, 14213, USA
| | - Valerie J. Sydnor
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA, 14213, USA
| | - Finnegan J. Calabro
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA, 14213, USA
| | - Beatriz Luna
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA, 14213, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA, 14213, USA
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Gilman JM, Kaur J, Tervo-Clemmens B, Potter K, Sanzo BT, Schuster RM, Bjork JM, Evins AE, Roffman JL, Lee PH. Associations between behavioral and self-reported impulsivity, brain structure, and genetic influences in middle childhood. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 67:101389. [PMID: 38749217 PMCID: PMC11112269 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Impulsivity undergoes a normative developmental trajectory from childhood to adulthood and is thought to be driven by maturation of brain structure. However, few large-scale studies have assessed associations between impulsivity, brain structure, and genetic susceptibility in children. In 9112 children ages 9-10 from the ABCD study, we explored relationships among impulsivity (UPPS-P impulsive behavior scale; delay discounting), brain structure (cortical thickness (CT), cortical volume (CV), and cortical area (CA)), and polygenic scores for externalizing behavior (PGSEXT). Both higher UPPS-P total scores and more severe delay-discounting had widespread, low-magnitude associations with smaller CA in frontal and temporal regions. No associations were seen between impulsivity and CV or CT. Additionally, higher PGSEXT was associated with both higher UPPS-P scores and with smaller CA and CV in frontal and temporal regions, but in non-overlapping cortical regions, underscoring the complex interplay between genetics and brain structure in influencing impulsivity. These findings indicate that, within large-scale population data, CA is significantly yet weakly associated with each of these impulsivity measures and with polygenic risk for externalizing behaviors, but in distinct brain regions. Future work should longitudinally assess these associations through adolescence, and examine associated functional outcomes, such as future substance use and psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jodi M Gilman
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; MGH/HST Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
| | - Jasmeen Kaur
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brenden Tervo-Clemmens
- Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, USA
| | - Kevin Potter
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brandon T Sanzo
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MA, USA
| | - Randi M Schuster
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - James M Bjork
- Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, VA, USA
| | - A Eden Evins
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joshua L Roffman
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; MGH/HST Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Phil H Lee
- Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), MA, USA
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Keating DP. Adolescent Health Risk Behavior: The Road Ahead. J Adolesc Health 2024; 74:397-399. [PMID: 38309840 DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel P Keating
- Department of Psychology & Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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