When Is an Adolescent an Adult? Assessing Cognitive Control in Emotional and Nonemotional Contexts. (April 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Cohen, Alexandra O.; Breiner, Kaitlyn; Steinberg, Laurence; Bonnie, Richard J.; Scott, Elizabeth S.; Taylor-Thompson, Kim; Rudolph, Marc D.; Chein, Jason; Richeson, Jennifer A.; Heller, Aaron S.; Silverman, Melanie R.; Dellarco, Danielle V.; Fair, Damien A.; Galván, Adriana; Casey, B. J.
• Is Part Of: Psychological science. Volume 27:Number 4(2016:Apr.)
• Page Start: 549
• Page End: 562
• Publication Date: 2016-04
• Subjects: adolescence -- cognitive control -- development -- emotion -- fMRI -- legal policy -- young adult; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150.5
• DOI: 10.1177/0956797615627625
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-7976

Abstract

An individual is typically considered an adult at age 18, although the age of adulthood varies for different legal and social policies. A key question is how cognitive capacities relevant to these policies change with development. The current study used an emotional go/no-go paradigm and functional neuroimaging to assess cognitive control under sustained states of negative and positive arousal in a community sample of one hundred ten 13- to 25-year-olds from New York City and Los Angeles. The results showed diminished cognitive performance under brief and prolonged negative emotional arousal in 18- to 21-year-olds relative to adults over 21. This reduction in performance was paralleled by decreased activity in fronto-parietal circuitry, implicated in cognitive control, and increased sustained activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, involved in emotional processes. The findings suggest a developmental shift in cognitive capacity in emotional situations that coincides with dynamic changes in prefrontal circuitry. These findings may inform age-related social policies.