When Is an Adolescent an Adult? Assessing Cognitive Control in Emotional and Nonemotional Contexts

Alexandra O. Cohen; Kaitlyn Breiner; Laurence Steinberg; Richard J. Bonnie; Elizabeth S. Scott; Kim A. Taylor-Thompson; Marc D. Rudolph; Jason Chein; Jennifer A. Richeson; Aaron S. Heller; Melanie R. Silverman; Danielle V. Dellarco; Damien A. Fair; Adriana Galván; B. J. Casey

doi:10.1177/0956797615627625

When Is an Adolescent an Adult? Assessing Cognitive Control in Emotional and Nonemotional Contexts

Alexandra O. Cohen, Kaitlyn Breiner, Laurence Steinberg, Richard J. Bonnie, Elizabeth S. Scott, Kim A. Taylor-Thompson, Marc D. Rudolph, Jason Chein, Jennifer A. Richeson, Aaron S. Heller, Melanie R. Silverman, Danielle V. Dellarco, Damien A. Fair, Adriana Galván, B. J. Casey

Behavioral Neuroscience

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

142 Scopus citations

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.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	549-562
Number of pages	14
Journal	Psychological Science
Volume	27
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615627625
State	Published - Apr 2016

Keywords

adolescence
cognitive control
development
emotion
fMRI
legal policy
young adult

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Psychology(all)

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10.1177/0956797615627625

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Cohen, A. O., Breiner, K., Steinberg, L., Bonnie, R. J., Scott, E. S., Taylor-Thompson, K. A., Rudolph, M. D., Chein, J., Richeson, J. A., Heller, A. S., Silverman, M. R., Dellarco, D. V., Fair, D. A., Galván, A., & Casey, B. J. (2016). When Is an Adolescent an Adult? Assessing Cognitive Control in Emotional and Nonemotional Contexts. Psychological Science, 27(4), 549-562. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615627625

Cohen, AO, Breiner, K, Steinberg, L, Bonnie, RJ, Scott, ES, Taylor-Thompson, KA, Rudolph, MD, Chein, J, Richeson, JA, Heller, AS, Silverman, MR, Dellarco, DV, Fair, DA, Galván, A & Casey, BJ 2016, 'When Is an Adolescent an Adult? Assessing Cognitive Control in Emotional and Nonemotional Contexts', Psychological Science, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 549-562. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615627625

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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.",

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When Is an Adolescent an Adult? Assessing Cognitive Control in Emotional and Nonemotional Contexts

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