Adolescent Brain Response to Reward Is Associated with a Bias toward Immediate Reward

Abstract

The current study examines associations between neural activation to the receipt of monetary reward in a rewarding game task and bias toward immediate reward measured in a behavioral delay discounting task among early adolescents (N = 58, 12-14 years). As expected, heightened brain activation in reward-related regions were correlated with higher bias toward immediate reward. This suggests that bias toward immediate reward in delay discounting tasks may be linked to heightened activation to reward in reward processing regions. This interplay between neural reward processing and bias toward immediate reward might explain the sharp increases in bias toward immediate reward that occur in early adolescence.

Limitations of DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for substance use disorder in adolescents: what have we learned after using these criteria for several years?

“…Furthermore, adolescence is characterized by elevated neural responses to hedonic stimuli and behavioral bias towards an immediate reward, which may cause diverse activities to be neglected at the expense of the more reinforcing ones, such as substance use. 3 Using substances again and again, even when it puts you in danger…”

“…Therefore, this criterion has little applicability in adolescents. 2,3 Finally, adolescence is a stage of development that involves significant physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral changes. Cognitive characteristics include greater sensitivity to reward, sensation-seeking, impulsive action, and low self-control to inhibit emotions and behaviors.…”

“…Neurobiological findings on decision-making and risk behaviors in adolescents indicate that an imbalance in development between slowly maturing regulatory processes (in particular, inhibition) involving the anterior cingulate cortex, as well as motivational-reward processes including the ventral striatum and tonsils, underlie weakened decision-making in adolescence. 1,3 In summary, application of the DSM-5 criteria in adolescents can be quite inaccurate by under-identifying cases of possible harmful use.…”

“…1,2 Adolescence is a period of natural exposure to risky behaviors, such as substance use. 3 It is known that, the earlier the diagnostic evaluation and intervention for substance use are carried out, the better the chances of interrupting consumption. A structured assessment of drug use may include the use of DSM-5 criteria.…”

“…In addition, many adolescents do not wish to stop or reduce their use and think they can stop whenever they want. 3 Spending a lot of time getting, using, or recovering from use of the substance This criterion may be imprecise when applied to adolescents, since many activities during this period of the life course revolve around the same group of friends, and if one's friends use a substance, then these behaviors are reinforced and maintained precisely through the need to increase sociability and the sense of belonging.…”