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The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies
Open accessAbstract
Social cognition is the collection of cognitive processes required to understand and interact with others. The term ‘social brain’ refers to the network of brain regions that underlies these processes. Recent evidence suggests that a number of social cognitive functions continue to develop during adolescence, resulting in age differences in tasks that assess cognitive domains including face processing, mental state inference and responding to peer influence and social evaluation. Concurrently, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies show differences between adolescent and adult groups within parts of the social brain. Understanding the relationship between these neural and behavioural observations is a challenge. This review discusses current research findings on adolescent social cognitive development and its functional MRI correlates, then integrates and interprets these findings in the context of hypothesised developmental neurocognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms.
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TL;DR
This review synthesizes fMRI and behavioural evidence that social cognition and the social brain continue to develop through adolescence, with age differences in face processing, mentalising, peer influence, and social evaluation/rejection. It integrates these findings with structural MRI and theoretical models, while highlighting unresolved questions about structure–function mechanisms and bidirectional development.
Key findings
- Face processing: right FFA face-selective activation expands with age (adult > child; adolescent intermediate in Golarai et al., N=23 children, 10 adolescents, 17 adults), correlated with improved facial identity recognition memory; Scherf et al. found FFA/STS increases from childhood to adolescence but no further specificity changes to adulthood, and Peelen et al. found no age-related increase in fusiform body area, suggesting a double dissociation.
- Mentalising: activity in anterior rostral MPFC during mentalising relative to control correlates negatively with age from adolescence to adulthood, with some posterior/temporal components showing opposite patterns; Dumontheil et al. found continuing development in late adolescence (between age 17 and early adulthood) on visual-perspective mentalising trials.
- Peer influence and social evaluation: adolescents took many more risks in a driving simulation when with peers than alone, whereas adults did not differ and youths were intermediate (Gardner & Steinberg); resistance to peer influence increased linearly between 14 and 18 years in >3600 participants aged 10–23+ (Steinberg & Monahan); Cyberball studies showed reduced positive mood and heightened anxiety after exclusion in adolescents vs adults, and adults activated VLPFC more during exclusion/rejection while adolescents showed the reverse or no discrimination.
- Structural/theoretical: cortical grey matter decreases region-specifically and often non-linearly across adolescence, while white matter volume/density increases; models (SIPN, Triadic, Developmental Mismatch) propose heterochronous limbic/PFC maturation, but direct developmental evidence linking microstructural neuronal properties to BOLD signal is lacking.
Methods
- Narrative review, not a primary empirical study; synthesizes developmental fMRI, behavioural, and structural MRI findings on adolescent social cognition.
- Covers face processing, mentalising, peer influence, and social evaluation/rejection, citing cross-sectional child/adolescent/adult studies (e.g., Golarai et al. N=23 children, 10 adolescents, 17 adults; Thomas et al. N=31 children, 23 adolescents, 48 adults; Steinberg & Monahan >3600 aged 10–23+).
- Main analysis is qualitative integration of findings with theoretical models (Interactive Specialisation, SIPN, Triadic, Developmental Mismatch); no meta-analysis or new data are reported.
Limitations
- Stated: the experimental picture is incomplete; suitable mentalising paradigms beyond early childhood are lacking; developmental fMRI of facial emotion processing is challenging to interpret; no direct developmental evidence links microstructural neuronal properties (e.g., synapse density, myelination) to BOLD signal; new behavioural measures of emotional self-regulation are needed; the hypothesis that females are more sensitive to social evaluation remains untested.
- Stated: regional grey and white matter development in specific social brain components has not been systematically characterised, and trajectories of adolescent white matter in specific social-brain tracts have yet to be delineated.
- Evident: as a narrative review, the literature coverage is described as “not exhaustive,” and no systematic search or quality appraisal is reported; causal links between brain development, fMRI activity, and behaviour remain speculative and potentially bidirectional.
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Claims the paper makes
60 Not checked yet · 16 Own interpretation · 4 No basis given · 1 Supported
In the paper
“The 10-year-olds made more errors than did adults on the identity task in which head orientation varied.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Mondloch et al. (2003) source
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“In view of these early preferences, it has come as a surprise that specialised face processing mechanisms, at both the behavioural level and the neural level, continue to develop throughout the first and even the second decade of life (Carey et al., 1980; Durand et al., 2007; Mondloch et al., 2003).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Concurrently, functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies show differences between adolescent and adult groups within parts of the social brain.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > Abstract
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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- Rests on an assumption: Differences in fMRI activity between adolescent and adult groups within social brain regions can be interpreted as differences in social cognitive function or development.
In the paper
“Adolescents showed greater activity than did adults within the right amygdala, ACC and OFC bilaterally during passive viewing of fearful relative to neutral faces”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Monk et al., 2003 source
plaincorrelationaln = 17- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“A substantial functional neuroimaging literature indicates that mentalising in adults recruits a circumscribed set of brain regions, comprising the ATC, pSTS, TPJ and anterior rostral portion of MPFC (Frith and Frith, 2003).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.2. Mentalising
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Frith and Frith, 2003 source
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“However, the evidence reviewed above suggests continuing development across adolescence in the neural correlates of social cognitive processes including face processing, mentalising, peer influence and the emotional response to social evaluation and rejection.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
- Rests on an assumption: Cross-sectional age differences in behavioural and fMRI measures reflect developmental change within individuals over time.
- Rests on an assumption: Differences in fMRI activity between adolescent and adult groups within social brain regions can be interpreted as differences in social cognitive function or development.
In the paper
“However, there was an age-related increase in the extent of differential top-down modulation of specific intra-network connections depending on task context.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Cohen Kadosh et al., in press
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Across all expression morphs, adults were more accurate at identifying the emotion shown than were children and adolescents.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Thomas et al., 2007 source
plainn = 48- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Activity within parts of OFC during social rejection was positively correlated with self-rated social anxiety in 8–17-year-olds.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Gunther Moor et al., 2010
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Thus, female adolescents show heightened sensitivity to social rejection in an experimental context.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
plaincorrelationaln = 26- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Probably not a substantial claim. 5
- It may state two separate claims as one. 25
Every source the paper cites for this claim was checked and supports it.
In the paper
“The impact of increased levels of circulating gonadal (as well as adrenal) puberty hormones on brain and behaviour in humans is not fully understood (Blakemore et al., 2010).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 3. Theoretical models of adolescent neurocognitive development
What the sources say
- Supportedcites Blakemore et al., 2010 source
The Introduction says relatively little is known about puberty and neural development in humans. The Hormonal Effects on Brain and Behavior section identifies gonadal and adrenal hormones as affecting brain and behavior, while saying that adrenal-hormone effects are poorly understood and that the specific relationships in humans remain unclear. (LLM, conf=0.92)
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Supported
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Recent evidence suggests that a number of social cognitive functions continue to develop during adolescence, resulting in age differences in tasks that assess cognitive domains including face processing, mental state inference and responding to peer influence and social evaluation.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > Abstract
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- Rests on an assumption: Cross-sectional age differences in behavioural and fMRI measures reflect developmental change within individuals over time.
- Rests on an assumption: Differences in fMRI activity between adolescent and adult groups within social brain regions can be interpreted as differences in social cognitive function or development.
In the paper
“An early study by Carey et al. (1980) showed improvement in facial identity recognition across the first decade of life, followed by a brief dip in performance at age 12”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Carey et al. (1980) source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Results showed that, in comparison to adults, the 6-year-olds made more errors on every task, and the 8-year-olds made more errors on three of the five tasks, namely when matching the direction of gaze and on the two identity tasks.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Mondloch et al. (2003)
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Basic face processing abilities show remarkably protracted behavioural development during childhood and adolescence, and functional MRI responses within the cortical network for face processing become more fine-tuned and robust with age.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“In contrast, adult risk-taking did not differ between the social and solitary conditions, and youths showed an intermediate effect.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.3. Peer influence
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Gardner and Steinberg, 2005 source
plainn = 95- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“However, whereas recognition accuracy for fear showed a linear improvement across cross-sectional age anger showed a quadratic trend, with sharp improvement between adolescence and adulthood.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Thomas et al., 2007 source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Results showed an age-related increase in activity within ventral MPFC, ACC and striatum during evaluation and predicted social feedback, while predicted social rejection resulted in activity within affect-regulation regions, such as OFC and lateral PFC, which increased linearly across age.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Gunther Moor et al., 2010
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“This suggests that adolescence is characterised by continuing improvement in facial emotion recognition, but that the specific developmental trajectory may differ between emotions.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Additionally, levels of anxiety were disproportionately increased following social rejection in younger adolescents (11–13 years) relative to adults, while anxiety was sustainedly high in older adolescents (14–15 years).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Sebastian et al., 2010a
plaindirectn = 26- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“Results showed an age-related increase in the spatial extent of face-selective suprathreshold activation within right fusiform cortex (the ‘fusiform face area’; FFA): FFA was significantly larger in adult than child groups, and the adolescent group showed an intermediate pattern.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Golarai et al., 2007 source
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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In the paper
“an age-related increase in size of face-selective FFA was observed between childhood and adolescence, as well as an increase in face-selective superior temporal sulcus (STS) (Scherf et al., 2007).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Scherf et al., 2007 source
plaindirectn = 10- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“positive correlations were found between self-reported distress and activity within visceral pain and negative affect-related regions (e.g. insula) during social exclusion vs. inclusion; and negative correlations were found between self-reported distress and activity within emotion-regulation regions (e.g. ventrolateral PFC).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Masten et al., 2009 source
plaincorrelationaln = 23- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The previously reported increase in functional specialisation in FFA for face stimuli was replicated, but there was no age-related increase in functional specialisation for body stimuli in the adjacent fusiform ‘body area’ (FBA).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Peelen et al., 2009
plainn = 44- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Results showed that adults activated ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC) to a greater extent during exclusion than during inclusion conditions, while adolescents exhibited the reverse pattern.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Sebastian et al., in press
plaincorrelationaln = 19- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“These studies are consistent with theories suggesting that prefrontal regulatory mechanisms continue to develop between mid-adolescence and adulthood (e.g. Nelson et al., 2005), and this may be one factor underlying observed adolescent hypersensitivity to rejection.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Nelson et al., 2005 source
hedgedconditionaln = 19- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Behavioural studies suggest continuing maturation in facial emotion recognition accuracy during adolescence, although developmental fMRI studies of facial emotion processing are challenging to interpret.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
hedgedcorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“In this study, no further changes in functional specificity for face processing were noted between adolescence and adulthood, but activity became more bilateral with age.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Scherf et al., 2007 source
plainn = 10- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“In adults, rejection-themed words activated the right ventrolateral PFC to a greater extent than acceptance or neutral words. However, in the adolescent group, this regulatory region did not discriminate between rejection and neutral words, and responded more to acceptance words than to rejection.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Sebastian et al., 2010b
plainn = 19- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“The study confirmed the previous finding showing an age-related decrease in amygdala engagement during passive viewing of fearful faces, and also showed greater activity in the FFA in adolescents relative to adults during this contrast.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.1. Face processing
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Guyer et al., 2008 source
plaincorrelationaln = 31- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Results showed that in females only, there was an age-related increase in activity during expectation of peer evaluation, within brain regions involved in affective processing (nucleus accumbens, hypothalamus, hippocampus and insula), but no differences within the ACC or other social brain regions.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 2. Functional neuroimaging and behavioural studies of social cognition in adolescence > 2.4. Social evaluation: acceptance and rejection
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Guyer et al., 2009 source
plaincorrelationaln = 34- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“The BOLD response is thought to be generated by local excitatory synaptic activity (Logothetis et al., 2001), leading to precisely localised changes in blood flow in response to the release of glutamate (Attwell and Iadecola, 2002).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 4. Structure–function relationships in the adolescent social brain > 4.3. Mechanistic relationships between MRI findings and fMRI signal
What the sources say
hedgeddirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Histological studies have shown evidence for synaptic proliferation in certain brain regions at around the start of adolescence, with protracted synaptic pruning occurring across the remainder of adolescence (e.g. human frontal cortex: Huttenlocher and Dabholkar, 1998; primate: Bourgeois and Rakic, 1993; Rakic et al., 1986).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 4. Structure–function relationships in the adolescent social brain > 4.2. Microstructural mechanisms of developmental MRI findings
What the sources say
plaindirect- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
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It may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“This would not only ‘speed up’ neural processing, but allow for greater temporal precision and, e.g. inter-regional synchronisation (Paus et al., 1999; see e.g. Fornari et al., 2007).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 4. Structure–function relationships in the adolescent social brain > 4.2. Microstructural mechanisms of developmental MRI findings
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Paus et al., 1999
- Not checked yetcites Fornari et al., 2007
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
The paper states this without a source or data behind it here, so there is nothing to check it against. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The models are broadly compatible, differing in their degree of focus on social cognition and in the level of detailed description at each level of explanation.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 3. Theoretical models of adolescent neurocognitive development
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
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- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
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Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Results from a recent primate electrophysiology study suggest that the pruning of excitatory synapses in DLPFC could have functional impact, since the synapses which undergo pruning may be functionally mature (Gonzalez-Burgos et al., 2008).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 4. Structure–function relationships in the adolescent social brain > 4.2. Microstructural mechanisms of developmental MRI findings
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Gonzalez-Burgos et al., 2008
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Using a number of social cognition tasks, fMRI studies have shown changes in functional brain activity, which occurrs alongside emerging social cognitive proficiency and neuroanatomical development.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 5. Conclusions
plaincorrelational- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
It may state two separate claims as one.
- The authors state this as an assumption: Adolescent behavioural and cognitive development is causally related to changes in functional brain activity measured in fMRI.
- The authors state this as an assumption: Changes in functional brain activity are related to neuroanatomical development.
In the paper
“A conceptual framework that accommodates these potentially bidirectional causal relationships is provided within the Interactive Specialisation account (Johnson et al., 2009).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 5. Conclusions
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites Johnson et al., 2009
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: fails — The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
A conclusion the paper draws from its own results — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Neuroanatomical development, leading to enhanced local and interregional neural processing capacity, may be necessary for transitions between each stage of cognitive development.”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 5. Conclusions
hedgedconditional- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: fails — The paper may give no reason why it holds.
Probably not a substantial claim. The paper may give no reason why it holds.
- The authors state this as an assumption: Adolescent behavioural and cognitive development is causally related to changes in functional brain activity measured in fMRI.
- The authors state this as an assumption: Changes in functional brain activity are related to neuroanatomical development.
The paper relies on this without support.
Cross-sectional age differences in behavioural and fMRI measures reflect developmental change within individuals over time.
“Recent cross-sectional developmental fMRI studies suggest that the prolonged acquisition of face processing abilities is mirrored by protracted functional specialisation within the cortical face processing network”
The paper relies on this without support.
Differences in fMRI activity between adolescent and adult groups within social brain regions can be interpreted as differences in social cognitive function or development.
“Functional MRI studies show differences between adolescence and adulthood in patterns of activity within these regions and, more recently, in their patterns of functional connectivity.”
The paper relies on this without support.
The tasks used in the reviewed studies validly isolate the social cognitive processes they are intended to measure.
“This renders any age-associated improvement in performance difficult to attribute to improved mentalising ability per se.”
The authors state this as an assumption.
Adolescent behavioural and cognitive development is causally related to changes in functional brain activity measured in fMRI.
“Implicit in these models is the reasonable assumption that adolescent behavioural and cognitive development is causally related to changes in functional brain activity measured in fMRI, and that the changes in functional brain activity are related to neuroanatomical development.”
The authors state this as an assumption.
Changes in functional brain activity are related to neuroanatomical development.
“Implicit in these models is the reasonable assumption that adolescent behavioural and cognitive development is causally related to changes in functional brain activity measured in fMRI, and that the changes in functional brain activity are related to neuroanatomical development.”
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Adolescence is also a critical time period for neuroanatomical change and maturation, which translates into behavioral development, including cognitive function, social cognition, and executive function (285, 286).”
From Diet and the Microbiota–Gut–Brain Axis: Sowing the Seeds of Good Mental Health (2021) · cites this paper as [286]
In the citing paper
“Also falling within our medial cluster of activation, ventromedial PFC and medial OFC activation likely reflects engagement in social cognitive processes, consistent with past research that has associated these regions with social and self-relevant evaluative processes (Burnett et al., 2011; Pfeifer et al., 2013; 2011).”
From Neural correlates of social exclusion across ages: A coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional MRI studies (2017) · cites this paper as Burnett et al., 2011
In the citing paper
“For example, mentalizing and self-evaluative processes, as well as their associated midline structures are thought to continue to mature throughout the adolescent period (Burnett et al., 2011; Pfeifer and Peake, 2012).”
From Neural correlates of social exclusion across ages: A coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional MRI studies (2017) · cites this paper as Burnett et al., 2011
In the citing paper
“While much behavioral research shows that adolescence is a developmental period characterized by heightened sensitivity to social experiences in particular (e.g., peer interactions), recent reviews of neuroimaging-based evidence corroborate this characteristic of adolescence”
From Adolescent neurobiological susceptibility to social context (2016) · cites this paper as Burnett et al., 2011
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > 4. Structure–function relationships in the adolescent social brain > 4.1. Structural MRI findings
“Increases in white matter volume are accompanied by progressive changes in MRI measures of white matter integrity, such as the magnetisation-transfer ratio (MTR) in MRI, and fractional anisotropy (FA) in diffusion-tensor MRI (Macchi et al., 2004; Giorgio et al., 2010; Paus et al., 2008a,b; Fornari et al., 2007).”
§ The social brain in adolescence: Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural studies > References
“62. Macchi C Turati C Simion F Can a nonspecific bias toward top-heavy patterns explain newborns’ face preference? Psychological Science 2004 15 6 379 383 15147490”
Citations
Cites
Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind?
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Ashburner, J., & Friston, K. J. (2000) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1006/nimg.2000.0582 · Cited by 8,676
Neurophysiological investigation of the basis of the fMRI signal
Logothetis, N. K., Pauls, J., Augath, M., Trinath, T., & Oeltermann, A. (2001) · Nature · doi:10.1038/35084005 · Cited by 6,551
Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood
Gogtay, N., Giedd, J. N., Lusk, L., Hayashi, K. M., Greenstein, D., Vaituzis, A. C., Nugent, T. F., Herman, D. H., Clasen, L. S., Toga, A. W., et al. (2004) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.0402680101 · Cited by 5,604
Brain development during childhood and adolescence: a longitudinal MRI study
Giedd, J. N., Blumenthal, J., Jeffries, N. O., Castellanos, F. X., Liu, H., Zijdenbos, A., Paus, T., Evans, A. C., & Rapoport, J. L. (1999) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/13158 · Cited by 5,552
Trust, Reciprocity, and Social History
Berg, J., Dickhaut, J., & McCabe, K. (1995) · Games and Economic Behavior · doi:10.1006/game.1995.1027 · Cited by 5,548
The distributed human neural system for face perception
Haxby, J. V., Hoffman, E. A., & Gobbini, M. I. (2000) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01482-0 · Cited by 4,891
Friston, K. J., Harrison, L., & Penny, W. (2003) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/s1053-8119(03)00202-7 · Cited by 4,583
Does Rejection Hurt? An fMRI Study of Social Exclusion
Eisenberger, N. I., Lieberman, M. D., & Williams, K. D. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1089134 · Cited by 3,849
Meeting of minds: the medial frontal cortex and social cognition
Amodio, D. M., & Frith, C. D. (2006) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn1884 · Cited by 3,782
Research works printed but not linked: 3
- Cohen Kadosh, K., Cohen Kadosh, R., Dick, Johnson, M.H., Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, in press.
- Grosbras, 2007, Neural mechanisms of resistance to peer influence in early adolescence, Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 8040, 10.1523/jneurosci.1360-07.2007 · DOI · Paper page
- Rolls, E.T., Deco, G. (in press).
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Understanding adolescence as a period of social–affective engagement and goal flexibility
Crone, E. A., & Dahl, R. E. (2012) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn3313 · Cited by 2,507
The Teenage Brain: Sensitivity to Social Evaluation
Somerville, L. H. (2013) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721413476512 · Cited by 1,011
Gut microbiota depletion from early adolescence in mice: implications for brain and behaviour
Desbonnet, L., Clarke, G., Traplin, A., O’Sullivan, O., Crispie, F., Moloney, R. D., Cotter, P. D., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2015) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2015.04.004 · Cited by 760
“…relating to neuronal architecture and function occur during adolescence that, from an evolutionary perspective, promote the maturation of behaviours and skills such as social and cognitive capabilities necessary to achieve independence from the secure family environment (Burnett et al., 2011).”
BackgroundThe Teenage Brain: Peer Influences on Adolescent Decision Making
Albert, D., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2013) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721412471347 · Cited by 713
“Moreover, several developmental neuroimaging studies have indicated that, relative to children and adults, adolescents show heightened neural activation in response to a variety of social stimuli, such as facial expressions and social feedback (Burnett et al., 2011).”
Backgroundde Figueiredo, C. S., Sandre, P. C., Portugal, L. C. L., Mázala-de-Oliveira, T., Chagas, L. D. S., Raony, Í., Ferreira, E. S., Giestal‐de‐Araujo, E., dos Santos, A. A., & Oliveira-Silva, P. (2020) · Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110171 · Cited by 720
Metadata
- Authors
- Burnett, S., Sebastian, C., Cohen Kadosh, K., & Blakemore, S.-J.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Venue
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-08
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1654-1664
- ISSN
- 0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4538788
- OpenAlex
- W2079522256
- Semantic Scholar
- db322dec758616ba4794e75d2fc0bb727ddabe9e
- Cited by
- 391
- References
- 117
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 36 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 31 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 1.42
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (077539)
- Royal Society
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Keywords
- social brain, social cognition, adolescence, cognitive development, face processing, mental state inference, peer influence, social evaluation, neurophysiological mechanisms
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Psychology, Adolescent, Brain, Child, Child, Preschool, Cognition, Critical Period, Psychological, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Social Behavior, Social Perception, Adolescent Development, Young Adult, Functional Neuroimaging
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-09, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-09 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
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