Researchers notices brain differences in teens who tended to take more risks.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unintentional injuries are the leading cause of injuries in this age group, the Center for BrainHealth reported.
"Our brains have an emotional-regulation network that exists to govern emotions and influence decision-making," said the study's lead author, Sam Dewitt. "Antisocial or risk-seeking behavior may be associated with an imbalance in this network."
To make their findings the researchers looked at 36 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17. Eighteen risk-taking teens were age and sex matched to a group of 18 non risk-takers. The participants' risk taking tendencies were assessed through "drug and alcohol use, sexual promiscuity, and physical violence." The subjects underwent functional MRI (fMRI) scans to determine communication between brain regions.
"Most fMRI scans used to be done in conjunction with a particular visual task. In the past several years, however, it has been shown that performing an fMRI scan of the brain during a 'mind-wandering' state is just as valuable," said Sina Aslan, Ph.D., President of Advance MRI and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas. "In this case, brain regions associated with emotion and reward centers show increased connection even when they are not explicitly engaged."
The team determined risk-taking teens display hyperconnectivity between the amygdala, (responsible for emotional reactivity) and areas of the prefrontal cortex (associated with emotion regulation and critical thinking). They also observed increased activity between areas of the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens, which is linked to reward sensitivity and addiction.
"Our findings are crucial in that they help identify potential brain biomarkers that, when taken into context with behavioral differences, may help identify which adolescents are at risk for dangerous and pathological behaviors in the future," Dewitt said.
The findings were published June 30 in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.
