Steinberg Laurence
Department of Psychology, Temple University.
Dev Rev. 2008 Mar;28(1):78-106. doi: 10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002.
This article proposes a framework for theory and research on risk-taking that is informed by developmental neuroscience. Two fundamental questions motivate this review. First, why does risk-taking increase between childhood and adolescence? Second, why does risk-taking decline between adolescence and adulthood? Risk-taking increases between childhood and adolescence as a result of changes around the time of puberty in the brain's socio-emotional system leading to increased reward-seeking, especially in the presence of peers, fueled mainly by a dramatic remodeling of the brain's dopaminergic system. Risk-taking declines between adolescence and adulthood because of changes in the brain's cognitive control system - changes which improve individuals' capacity for self-regulation. These changes occur across adolescence and young adulthood and are seen in structural and functional changes within the prefrontal cortex and its connections to other brain regions. The differing timetables of these changes make mid-adolescence a time of heightened vulnerability to risky and reckless behavior.
本文提出了一个基于发展神经科学的冒险理论与研究框架。有两个基本问题推动了本综述。第一,为什么冒险行为在童年到青春期之间会增加?第二,为什么冒险行为在青春期到成年期之间会减少?冒险行为在童年到青春期之间增加,是由于青春期前后大脑社会情感系统的变化,导致寻求奖励的行为增加,尤其是在有同伴在场的情况下,这主要是由大脑多巴胺能系统的显著重塑所推动的。冒险行为在青春期到成年期之间减少,是因为大脑认知控制系统的变化——这些变化提高了个体的自我调节能力。这些变化发生在整个青春期和青年期,并在前额叶皮层及其与其他脑区的连接的结构和功能变化中可见。这些变化的不同时间表使得青春期中期成为一个更容易出现危险和鲁莽行为的时期。