Cited by 621Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Risk-taking behavior in adolescent mice: psychobiological determinants and early epigenetic influence

Laviola, Giovanni, Macrı̀, Simone, Morley-Fletcher, Sara, Adriani, Walter·2003·Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

Abstract

Epidemiological research has emphasized that adolescence is associated with some temperamental and behavioral traits that are typical of this age and that might substantially contribute to both psychological and psychobiological vulnerability. The contribution of the important developmental rearrangements in neurobiological and neuroendocrinological processes has received surprisingly little investigation. The present review summarizes recent work in animal models, indicating that adolescent rodents exhibit marked peculiarities in their spontaneous behavioral repertoire. When compared to adults, adolescents show an unbalanced and 'extremes-oriented' behavior, consisting of an increased novelty seeking, together with decreased novelty-induced stress and anxiety, an increased risk-taking behavior in the plus-maze, as well as elevated levels of impulsivity and restlessness. Age-related discontinuities in the function of monoaminergic systems, which are a main target of abused drugs, can perhaps account for such a profile. In particular, a peculiar function within reward-related dopaminergic brain pathways actually seems to underlie the search for novel and rewarding sensations, as well as changes in the magnitude of psychostimulant effects. The role played by early epigenetic factors in the shaping of novelty-seeking behavior of adolescent and adult rodents are also reviewed. Two examples are considered, namely, subtle variations in the hormonal milieu as a function of intrauterine position and precocious or delayed maturation of nutritional independence as a function of changes in time of weaning. As for spontaneous drug consumption, a prominent vulnerability to the oral intake of nicotine during early adolescence is reported. In conclusion, adolescence in rodents may represent a suitable animal model with enough face- and construct-validity. Actually, this model is able to show behavioral features that resemble those found in human adolescents, including vulnerability to the consumption of psychoactive drugs.

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Crossref · 10.1016/s0149-7634(03)00006-x

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  • In rodents, adolescence is increasingly defined as the period from weaning (~PND 21) to neurobiological maturity around two months of age (~PND 60).

    “adolescence in rodents is increasingly defined more in line with this larger age window in humans, by counting the period from weaning (~PND 21) where mice and rats gain begin to interact independently with their environments for the first time”

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Authors
Laviola, G., Macrı̀, S., Morley-Fletcher, S., & Adriani, W.
Affiliations
Istituto Superiore di Sanità (IT)
Venue
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2003-01
Volume
27
Issue
1-2
Pages
19-31
ISSN
0149-7634 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2059131332
Cited by
621
References
128
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 31 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 37 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 35 · 2012: 18
FWCI
7.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
Keywords
adolescent risk behavior, novelty seeking, impulsivity, anxiety, monoaminergic systems, dopaminergic reward pathways, epigenetics, intrauterine position, weaning time, drug vulnerability, neuroendocrinology
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Animals, Behavior, Animal, Exploratory Behavior, Humans, Psychotropic Drugs, Reward, Risk-Taking, Substance-Related Disorders, Models, Animal, Mice

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