The Teenage Brain: Sensitivity to Rewards
Abstract
Adolescence is characterized by heightened reward sensitivity. Accumulating evidence suggests that this behavior is associated with neurodevelopmental changes in reward-related neural circuitry. In this article, I review recent studies in animal models and humans that highlight the unique adolescent response to reward in the striatum, a reward-sensitive brain region. This work helps the field understand characteristic adolescent behavior and will be important in addressing policy questions related to this period of development.
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Early development of the valuation system is indicated by increases in striatal dopamine levels, dopamine receptor availability, and BOLD activity to rewarding stimuli in early adolescence.
“Indications of the early development of the valuation system include increases in striatal dopamine levels, dopamine receptor availability, and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity related to rewarding stimuli in early adolescence (34, 35)”
From Adolescent impatience decreases with increased frontostriatal connectivity (2015) · cites this paper as [34]
All adolescent brains are sensitized to reward learning.
“Despite sex differences in these trajectories, all adolescent brains are sensitized to reward learning (Galván, 2013).”
From Becoming a sexual being: The “elephant in the room” of adolescent brain development (2017) · cites this paper as Galván, 2013
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- Authors
- Galván, A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Corresponding author
- Galván, Adriana
- ORCID
- Galván, Adriana
- Venue
- Current Directions in Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-04
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 88-93
- ISSN
- 0963-7214 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8721
- OpenAlex
- W2169046953
- Semantic Scholar
- d75f7d629626368207bbef230be4175eb759a6bf
- Cited by
- 231
- References
- 57
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 24 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 8.98
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Current Directions in Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- adolescence, reward sensitivity, striatum, brain development, adolescent behavior
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