The Adolescent Brain
Lecture 1 - Introduction
Braintime study
White (myelinated connections between cell bodies) & Grey matter (mainly on
cortex, contains cell bodies and synapses) of brain
MRI Scanner
o Magnetic resonance imaging brain structure
o Functional MRI (fMRI) brain function (which regions active while task is
performed)
o Brain is scanned in slices (not entire brain all at once)
o Indirect measure of brain activity measurements of increased blood flow in
active area
o BOLD effect = blood oxygenation level dependent magnetic properties of
hemoglobin (in red blood cells) measurable
o Neural activation oxygen in blood fMRI signal
Important in fMRI:
o Need of good control condition
o Activity of experimental – activity of control condition
o BOLD signal is not an absolute measure of brain activation but relative (to
control)
o Many trials per condition
o Fixation between trials
o Engage participants
EEG
o High temporal resolution but lower spatial resolution
Adolescence = between childhood and adulthood
o Brain developing until age 24
o Cultural determinants
o Biological determinants (hormones, brain changes)
Structural brain development
o In childhood: Increase in connections between brain cells & Increase in
myelination in cortex
o With age increase in white matter and
o decrease in grey matter (after peak at 12)
first Synaptogenesis: increase in synapses
then Pruning: elimination of excess synapses
but some areas mature earlier than others (development from back to
front)
Anatomical terminology of brain
Social Information Processing Network:
, o Three different modes/networks in brain
Detection node: perceptual processing (perceive social cues) develops in
early maturation
Affective node: emotional response (to social cues) develops in early
adolescence, responsive to pubertal hormone changes
a. Positive/negative emotional arousal = amygdala
b. Negative emotions (disgust, fear, unfairness) = insula
c. Reward = nucleus accumbens / ventral striatum
Cognition/regulation node (regulation and monitoring of perception and
affection) develops in late adolescence, independent of puberty
a. Self-referential processing, self-reflection, mentalizing = medial
prefrontal cortex
b. Behavioral control, working memory = dorsal lateral PFC
c. Monitoring of affective state / action = anterior cingulate cortex
Neurological model of adolescent brain development
o Dual-system model
o Imbalance model
o Overactivity of affective regions
more intense emotions, harder to control
more sensitive to rewards
Cognitive Control
o Role of motivational salience of the context
o Brain development and behavior: context-dependent
o Motivation (social/contextual) can modulate cognitive control
o Control can suffer when required to suppress action towards rewards
o Adolescents more responsive to rewards (performed better when they could
win money) higher ventral striatum and PFC activation
o Emotional stimuli distract adolescents more than adults
Lecture 2 – Emotion Regulation
Emotions
o are not just feelings/mood
o neural and physiological responses to environment
Lecture 1 - Introduction
Braintime study
White (myelinated connections between cell bodies) & Grey matter (mainly on
cortex, contains cell bodies and synapses) of brain
MRI Scanner
o Magnetic resonance imaging brain structure
o Functional MRI (fMRI) brain function (which regions active while task is
performed)
o Brain is scanned in slices (not entire brain all at once)
o Indirect measure of brain activity measurements of increased blood flow in
active area
o BOLD effect = blood oxygenation level dependent magnetic properties of
hemoglobin (in red blood cells) measurable
o Neural activation oxygen in blood fMRI signal
Important in fMRI:
o Need of good control condition
o Activity of experimental – activity of control condition
o BOLD signal is not an absolute measure of brain activation but relative (to
control)
o Many trials per condition
o Fixation between trials
o Engage participants
EEG
o High temporal resolution but lower spatial resolution
Adolescence = between childhood and adulthood
o Brain developing until age 24
o Cultural determinants
o Biological determinants (hormones, brain changes)
Structural brain development
o In childhood: Increase in connections between brain cells & Increase in
myelination in cortex
o With age increase in white matter and
o decrease in grey matter (after peak at 12)
first Synaptogenesis: increase in synapses
then Pruning: elimination of excess synapses
but some areas mature earlier than others (development from back to
front)
Anatomical terminology of brain
Social Information Processing Network:
, o Three different modes/networks in brain
Detection node: perceptual processing (perceive social cues) develops in
early maturation
Affective node: emotional response (to social cues) develops in early
adolescence, responsive to pubertal hormone changes
a. Positive/negative emotional arousal = amygdala
b. Negative emotions (disgust, fear, unfairness) = insula
c. Reward = nucleus accumbens / ventral striatum
Cognition/regulation node (regulation and monitoring of perception and
affection) develops in late adolescence, independent of puberty
a. Self-referential processing, self-reflection, mentalizing = medial
prefrontal cortex
b. Behavioral control, working memory = dorsal lateral PFC
c. Monitoring of affective state / action = anterior cingulate cortex
Neurological model of adolescent brain development
o Dual-system model
o Imbalance model
o Overactivity of affective regions
more intense emotions, harder to control
more sensitive to rewards
Cognitive Control
o Role of motivational salience of the context
o Brain development and behavior: context-dependent
o Motivation (social/contextual) can modulate cognitive control
o Control can suffer when required to suppress action towards rewards
o Adolescents more responsive to rewards (performed better when they could
win money) higher ventral striatum and PFC activation
o Emotional stimuli distract adolescents more than adults
Lecture 2 – Emotion Regulation
Emotions
o are not just feelings/mood
o neural and physiological responses to environment
