The development of inhibitory saccadic trajectory deviations correlates with measures of antisaccadic inhibition

Neurobehavioral maturation of motor response inhibition in adolescence - A narrative review

Immature motor response inhibition in adolescence is considered contributory to adolescent risk-taking and externalizing behaviors. We review studies reporting age-related variations in motor response inhibition and MRI measurements from typically-developing adolescents. Reviewed studies measured response inhibition using one of three tasks-the Stop Signal Task, Go/No-Go, and Antisaccade Task. Task reliability appears to be particularly strong for the SST. Across tasks and study designs, results indicate that inhibitory control improves markedly through early adolescence. The trajectory of change in later adolescence and into young adulthood (i.e., linear or plateauing) varies depending on the task design. Neuroimaging studies identify adult-like response inhibition networks that are involved in behavioral development. The pros and cons of each task are discussed, including recommendations to guide future studies. Ongoing studies in large longitudinal datasets offer opportunities for further exploration of the shape of change in response inhibition, related neural regions, and associations with other affective and cognitive processes to identify potential impacts of motor response inhibition immaturities or individual differences on adolescent risk-taking behaviors.

Neural Substrates of Inhibitory Control Maturation in Adolescence

Inhibitory control matures through adolescence and into early adulthood, impacting decision-making. Impairments in inhibitory control are associated with various psychopathologies, many of which emerge during adolescence. In this review, we examine the neural basis of developmental improvements in inhibitory control by integrating findings from humans and non-human primates, identifying the structural and functional specialization of executive brain systems that mediates cognitive maturation. Behavioral manifestations of response inhibition suggest that adolescents are capable of producing adult level responses on occasion, but lack the ability to engage systems mediating response inhibition in a consistent fashion. Maturation is associated with changes in structural anatomy as well as local and systems-level connectivity. Functional changes revealed by neuroimaging and neurophysiology indicate that maturation of inhibitory control is achieved through improvements in response preparation, error processing, and planned responses.