Cited by 3,123Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies

Why do many psychiatric disorders emerge during adolescence?

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Paus, Tomáš, Keshavan, Matcheri, Giedd, Jay N.·2008·Nature Reviews Neuroscience

Abstract

The peak age of onset for many psychiatric disorders is adolescence, a time of remarkable physical and behavioural changes. The processes in the brain that underlie these behavioural changes have been the subject of recent investigations. What do we know about the maturation of the human brain during adolescence? Do structural changes in the cerebral cortex reflect synaptic pruning? Are increases in white-matter volume driven by myelination? Is the adolescent brain more or less sensitive to reward? Finding answers to these questions might enable us to further our understanding of mental health during adolescence.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nrn2513

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117 of 117 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Adolescence is associated with increased risk taking, accidents, and susceptibility to psychopathology.

    “this developmental period is also associated with increased risk taking, accidents, and susceptibility to psychopathology (Crone et al., 2016; Giedd et al., 2008; Kessler, Berglund, et al., 2005; Steinberg, 2007).”

    From Atypical interoception as a common risk factor for psychopathology: A review (2021) · cites this paper as Giedd et al., 2008

    The Substance Abuse section says adolescents exhibit increased risk taking, and the Introduction and Relationship to psychopathology in adolescence sections describe adolescence as a period when several psychiatric disorders commonly emerge. The passages do not address an increased incidence of accidents; a search for “accident” found no supporting passage. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Reductions in gray matter volume might reflect synaptic reorganization and/or increases in white matter integrity.

    “Despite these limitations, it is thought that reductions in gray matter volume might reflect synaptic reorganization and/or increases in white matter integrity (Paus et al. 2008).”

    From Is Adolescence a Sensitive Period for Sociocultural Processing? (2014) · cites this paper as Paus et al. 2008

    The “Adolescence = pruning + myelination?” section suggests that reduced synapses could indirectly reduce cortical grey-matter volume and that increased myelination of intra-cortical axons could produce an apparent loss of grey matter. It does not specifically attribute the reduction to increased white-matter integrity, and it cautions that MRI findings cannot be assigned to a single biological process. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Adolescence is a period of increased vulnerability to anxiety or depressive symptoms.

    “Further, adolescence is a time of increased vulnerability to develop anxiety or depressive symptoms (Paus et al., 2008)”
  • Adolescents are vulnerable to mental health problems.

    “Faced with this cocktail of stressful new experiences on a background of unstable hormones and altered brain function, it is perhaps unsurprising that adolescents are vulnerable to mental health problems (Kessler et al., 2005;Lee et al., 2014;Paus et al., 2008).”

    From The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis (2019) · cites this paper as Paus et al., 2008

  • White matter volume steadily increases from childhood into adolescence, accompanied by changes in DWI parameters, suggesting maturation of axons/myelin sheaths represents an ongoing developmental process.

    “Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies in humans have shown that white matter volume steadily increases from childhood into adolescence, accompanied by changes in Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) parameters, suggesting that maturation of axons/myelin sheaths represents an ongoing (developmental) process (Paus et al., 2008).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [38]Conel J Postnatal development of the human cerebral cortex: the cortex of the seventy-two-month infant 1967 8 Harvard Univ. Press Cambridge, MA
  2. [39]Yakovlev P Lecours A 1967 Blackwell Scientific Oxford

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Authors
Paus, T., Keshavan, M., & Giedd, J. N.
Affiliations
  • Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital (CA)
  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (US)
Corresponding author
  • Paus, Tomáš
  • Giedd, Jay N.
Venue
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Published
2008-11-12
Volume
9
Issue
12
Pages
947-957
ISSN
  • 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-0048
OpenAlex
W2040073285
Cited by
3,123
References
117
Citations by year
2026: 198 · 2025: 230 · 2024: 213 · 2023: 242 · 2022: 230 · 2021: 262 · 2020: 251 · 2019: 162 · 2018: 202 · 2017: 147 · 2016: 179 · 2015: 186 · 2014: 148 · 2013: 149 · 2012: 100
FWCI
5.35
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature reviews. Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (Z01MH002794)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Keywords
adolescent brain development, mental illness, synaptic pruning, cortical maturation, white matter myelination, reward sensitivity
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Brain, Humans, Synaptic Transmission, Peer Group, Sex Characteristics, Age of Onset, Adolescent Development

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