Brain structural correlates of risk-taking behavior and effects of peer influence in adolescents.
PLoS One
; 9(11): e112780, 2014.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-25389976
ABSTRACT
Adolescents are characterized by impulsive risky behavior, particularly in the presence of peers. We discriminated high and low risk-taking male adolescents aged 18-19 years by assessing their propensity for risky behavior and vulnerability to peer influence with personality tests, and compared structural differences in gray and white matter of the brain with voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), respectively. We also compared the brain structures according to the participants' actual risk-taking behavior in a simulated driving task with two different social conditions making up a peer competition situation. There was a discrepancy between the self-reported personality test results and risky driving behavior (running through an intersection with traffic lights turning yellow, chancing a collision with another vehicle). Comparison between high and low risk-taking adolescents according to personality test results revealed no significant difference in gray matter volume and white matter integrity. However, comparison according to actual risk-taking behavior during task performance revealed significantly higher white matter integrity in the high risk-taking group, suggesting that increased risky behavior during adolescence is not necessarily attributed to the immature brain as conventional wisdom says.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Brain
/
Adolescent Behavior
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
CIENCIA
/
MEDICINA
Year:
2014
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Finland