Examining the neural underpinnings of experienced and described information in adolescent risk-taking

Abstract

Adolescence is a unique developmental period where substantial brain development and social independence can result in higher risk-taking behavior. Researchers have spent the last several decades trying to understand at a neurological level why adolescents are more likely to take risks that often have extreme consequences (e.g., car accidents, drug use, etc.). The resulting research has found mixed and often inconsistent findings and scientists have posited that this could be due to differences in experimental tasks; where some are more description-based (e.g., Wheel of Fortune tasks) and others are more experience-based (e.g., Stop Signal tasks). Research examining the way adults learn about risk reveals that individuals make different decisions when information is learned via description or experience – a phenomenon known as the Description-Experience Gap. The present work aims to bridge research in adolescent development and judgement and decision-making to identify the neural processes associated with the Description-Experience gap in adolescents and adults. Across two studies, I examined the neural mechanisms associated with learning via description and experience in adolescents and adults and their subsequent impact on risky choice to find that adolescents and adults utilize information from description and experience differently. In adults, similar neural mechanisms involved with memory and deliberation are implicated at different points of the decision process. Adolescents displayed distinct neural activation associated with risk-taking and reward sensitivity when learning via experience. Both studies demonstrate the significance of memory and learning-relevant processes in risk-taking across development.