Los avances en las técnicas de neuroimagen han contribuido a un mejor conocimiento del desarrollo cerebral que tiene lugar durante la adolescencia, lo que nos permite tener una nueva perspectiva de algunas conductas problemáticas propias de esta etapa evolutiva, como son las conductas antisociales y de asunción de riesgos. Los estudios que utilizan técnicas de resonancia magnética funcional informan de cambios importantes que tienen lugar en el cerebro de los adolescentes y que afectan fundamentalmente a la corteza prefrontal. Otros cambios relevantes afectan al circuito básico de amenaza y al de recompensa, ya que en ambos casos la evidencia empírica indica una mayor activación en adolescentes que en adultos, lo que unido al menor desarrollo prefrontal crea un desequilibrio entre circuitos cerebrales que puede hacer más probable el surgimiento de conductas de agresión reactiva y de asunción de riesgos. Algunos datos indican que la excitabilidad de estos circuitos cerebrales puede estar ocasionada por los cambios hormonales de la pubertad, lo que hace que los primeros años de la adolescencia sean los de mayor riesgo para la aparición de conductas relacionadas con la falta de autorregulación, ya que en esta etapa coinciden la mayor excitabilidad con el menor desarrollo prefrontal.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ArmR. G.ShapkaJ. D. (2008). The Impact of Pubertal Timing and Parental Control on Adolescent Problem Behaviors.Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 445–455.
2.
ArnettJ. (1992). Reckless behavior in adolescence: A developmental perspective.Developmental Review, 12, 339–373.
3.
BairdA. A.FugelsangJ. A. (2004). The emergence of consequential thought: evidence from neuroscience.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences, 359, 1797–1804.
4.
BecharaA.DamasioH.DamasioA. R. (2000). Emotion, decision making and the orbitofrontal cortex.Cerebral Cortex, 10, 295–307.
5.
BecharaA.DamasioH.DamasioH. R. (2003). The role of the amygdala in decision-making in the amygdala in brain function: basic and clinical approaches.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 985, 356–369.
6.
BecharaA.DamasioA. R.DamasioH.AndersonS. W. (1994). Insensitivity to future consequences following damage to human prefrontal cortex.Cognition, 50, 7–15.
7.
BellisM. A.DowningJ.AshtonJ. R. (2006). Adults at 12? Trends in Puberty and their public health consequences.Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60, 910–911.
8.
BjorkJ. M.KnutsonB.FongG. W.CaggianoD. M.BennettS. M.HommerD. (2004). Incentive-elicited brain activation in adolescents: Similarities and differences from young adults.Journal of Neuroscience, 24, 1793–1802.
9.
BlairR. J. (2004). The roles of orbital frontal cortex in the modulation of antisocial behavior.Brain and Cognition, 55, 198–208.
10.
BlakemoreS.ChoudhuryS. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive function and social cognition.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 296–312.
11.
BoyerT. (2006). The development of risk-taking: A multi-perspective review.Developmental Review, 26, 291–345.
12.
BryantR. A.KempA. H.FelminghamK. L.LiddellB.OlivieriG.PedutoA.GordonE.WilliamsL. M. (2008). Enhanced amygdale and medial prefrontal activation during nonconscious processing of fear in posttraumatic stress disorder: An fMRI study.Human Brain Mapping, 29, 517–523.
13.
BurunatE. (2004). El desarrollo del sustrato neurobiológico de la motivación y emoción en la adolescencia: ¿Un nuevo período crítico?.Infancia y Aprendizaje, 27, 87–104.
14.
CareyS.DiamondR.WoodsB. (1980). The development of face recognition-? maturational component?Developmental Psychology, 16, 257–269.
15.
ChambersR. A.TaylorJ. R.PotenzaM. N. (2003). Developmental neurocircuitry of motivation in adolescence: A critical period of addiction vulnerability.American Journal of Psychiatry, 160, 1041–1052.
16.
CoccaroE. F.MccloskeyM. S.FitzgeraldD. A.PhanK. L. (2007). Amygdala and orbitofrontal reactivity to social threat in individuals with impulsive aggression.Biological Psychiatry, 62, 168–178.
17.
CornellA. H.FrickP. J. (2007). The moderating effects of parenting styles in the association between behavioral inhibition and parent-reported guilt and empathy in preschool children.Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 36, 305–318.
18.
CroneE. A.VanDERMolenM. W. (2004) Developmental changes in real-life decision-making: performance on a gambling task previously shown to depend on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Developmental Neuropsychology, 25, 251–279.
19.
CroweS. L.BlairR. J. R. (2008). The development of antisocial behaviour: What can we learn from functional neuroimaging studies?Development and Psychopathology, 20, 1145–1159.
20.
DaddsM. R.PerryY.HawesD. J.MerzS.RiddellA. C.HainesD. J.SolakE.AbeygunawardaneA. I. (2006). Attention to the eyes and fear-recognition deficits in child psychopathy.British Journal of Psychiatry, 189, 280–281.
21.
DahlR. E. (2006). Slepplessness and aggression in youth.Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 614–642.
22.
DahlR. E.LewinD. S. (2002). Pathways to adolescent Health: Sleep regulation and behavior.Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 175–184.
23.
DecetyJ.MichalskaK. J.AkitsukiY.LaheyB. B. (2009). Atypical empathic responses in adolescents with aggressive conduct disorder: A functional MRI investigation.Biological Psychology80, 203–211.
24.
DerntlB.WindischbergerC.RobinsonS.LamplmayrE.Kryspin-ExnerI.GurR. C.MoserE.HabelU. (2008). Facial emotion recognition and amygdala activation are associated with menstrual cycle phase.Psychoneuroendocri- nology, 33, 1031–1040.
25.
DolanM.FullamR. (2006). Face affect recognition deficits in personality-disordered offenders: Associationwith psychopathy.Psychological Medicine, 36, 1563–1569.
26.
DurstonS.DavidsonM. C.TottenhamN. T.GalvanA.SpicerJ.FossellaJ. A.CaseyB. J. (2006). A shift from diffuse to focal cortical activity with development.Developmental Science, 9, 1–8.
27.
EislerR.LevineD. S. (2002). Nurture, nature, and caring: We are not prisoners of our genes.Brain and Mind, 3, 9–52.
28.
ErnstM.MaheuF. S.SchrothE.HardinJ.GolanL. G.CameronJ.AllenR.HolzerS.NelsonE.PineD. S.MerkeD. P. (2007). Amygdala function in adolescents with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: A model for the study of early steroid abnormalities.Neuropsychologia, 45, 2104–2113.
29.
ErnstM.PineD. S.HardinM. (2006). Triadic model of the neurobiology of motivated behavior in adolescence.Psychological Medicine, 36, 299–312.
30.
EshelN.NelsonE. E.BlairR. J.PineD. S.ErnstM. (2007). Neural substrates of choice selection in adults and adolescents: Development of the ventrolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulated cortices.Neuropsychologia, 45, 1270–1279.
31.
FarringtonD. P. (2004). Conduct disorder, delinquency, and aggression. EnLernerR. M.SteinbergL. (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (2o ed.) (pp. 627–664). Nueva York: Wiley.
32.
FingerE. C.MarshA. A.MitchellD. G. V.ReidM.SimsC.BudhaniS.KossonD. S.ChenG.TowbinK. E.LeibenluftE.PineD. S.BlairJ. R. (2008). Abnormal ventromedial prefrontal cortex function in children with callous and unemotional traits during reversal learning.Archives of General Psychiatry, 65, 586–594.
33.
FrickP. J.WhiteS. F. (2008). Research review: The importance of callous-unemotional traits for developmental models of aggressive and antisocial behavior.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 359–375.
34.
GalvanA.HareT.ParraC. E.PennJ.VossH.GloverG.CaseyB. J. (2006). Earlier development of the accumbens relative to the orbitofrontal cortex might underlie risk-taking behavior in adolescents.The Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 6885–6892.
35.
GalvanA.HareT.VossH.GloverG.CaseyB. J. (2007). Risk-Taking and the adolescent brain: who is at risk?.Developmental Science, 10, 8–14.
36.
GardnerM.SteinbergL. (2005). Peer influence on risk-taking, risk preference, and risky decision-making in adolescence and adulthood: An experimental study.Developmental Psychology, 41, 625–635.
37.
GieddJ. N. (2008). The teen brain: Insights from neuroimaging.Journal of Adolescent Health, 42, 335–343.
38.
GieddJ. N.BlumenthalJ.JeffriesN. O.CastellanosF. X.LiuH.ZijdenbosA.PausT.EvansA. C.RapoportJ. L. (1999). Brain development during childhood and adolescence: a longitudinal MRI study.Nature Neuroscience, 2, 861–863.
39.
Gil-VeronaJ. A.PastorJ. F.De PazF.BarbosaM.MacíasJ. A.ManiegaM. A.Rami-GonzálezL.BogetT.PlcornellI. (2002). Psicobiología de las conductas agresivas.Anales d Psicología, 18 (2), 293–303.
40.
GoldbergE. (2001). The executive brain: Frontal lobes and the civilized mind.Nueva York: Oxford University Press.
41.
GroenewegenH. J. (2007). The ventral striatum as an interface between the limbic_and motor systems.CNS Spectrums12, 887–889.
42.
GuyerA.MonkC. S.Mcclure-ToneE. B.NelsonE. E.Roberson-NayR.AdlerA. D.FrommS. J.LeibenluftE.PineD. S.ErnstM. (2008). A Developmental Examination of Amygdala Response to Facial Expressions.Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20, 1565–1582.
43.
HookerC. I.GermineL. T.KnightR. T.D'espositoM. (2006). Amygdala response to facial expressions reflects emotional learning.Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 8915–8922.
44.
HooperC. J.LucianaM.ConklinH. M.YargerR. S. (2004). Adolescents' performance on the Iowa Gambling Task: Implications for the development of decision-making and ventromedial prefrontal cortex.Developmental Psychology, 40, 1148–1158.
45.
IrelandJ. L.CulpinV. (2006). The relationships between sleeping problems and aggression, anger and impulsivity in a population of juvenile and young offenders.Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 649–655.
46.
JessorR. (1998). New perspectives in adolescent risk behavior.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
47.
KlenbergL.KorkmanM.Lahti-NuuttilaP. L. (2001). Differential development of attention and executive functions in 3-to-12 years-old finish children.Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 407–428.
48.
KuhnD. (2006). Do cognitive changes accompany developments in the adolescent brain?Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 59–67.
49.
León-carriónJ.García-orzaJ.Pérez-santamaríaF. J. (2004). Development of the inhibitory component of the executive functions in children and adolescents.International Journal of Neuroscience, 114, 445–457.
50.
LunaB.ThulbornK. R.MunozD. P.MerriamE. P.GarverK. E.MinshewN. J.KeshavanM. S.GenoveseC. R.EddyW. F.SweeneyJ. A. (2001). Maturation of widely distributed brain function subserves cognitive development.Neurolmage, 13, 786–793.
51.
MarshA. A.FingerE. C.MitchellD. G. V.ReidM. E.SimsC.KossonD. S.TowbinK. E.LeibenluftE.PineD. S.BlairJ. R. (2008). Reduced amygdale response to fearful expressions in children and adolescents with callous-unemotional traits and disruptive behavior disorders.American Journal of Psychiatry, 165, 712–720.
52.
McgivernR.AndersenJ.ByrdD.MutterK.ReillyJ. (2002). Cognitive efficiency on a match to sample task decreases at the onset of puberty in children.Brain and Cognition, 50, 73–89.
53.
MendleJ.TurkheimerE.EmeryR. E. (2007). Detrimental psychological outcomes associated with early pubertal timing in adolescent girls.Developmental Review, 27, 151–171.
54.
MoffittT. E. (2003). Life-course-persistent and adolescence-limited antisocial behavior: A 10-year research review and a research agenda. EnLaheyB. B.MoffittT. E.CaspiA. (Eds.), Causes of conduct disorder and juvenile delinquency (pp. 49–75). Nueva York: Guilford Press.
55.
MoffittT. E.CaspiA.BelskyJ.SilvaP. A. (1992). Childhood experience and the onset of menarche: a test of a sociobiological model.Child Development, 63, 47–58.
56.
MonkC. S.McclureE. B.NelsonE. E.ZarahnE.BilderR. M.LeibenluftE.CharneyD. S.ErnstM.PineD. S. (2003). Adolescent immaturity in attention-related brain engagement to emotional facial expressions.Neuroimage, 20, 420–28.
57.
NelsonE.LeibenluftE.McclureE.PineD. (2005) The social re-orientation of adolescence: A neuroscience perspective on the process and its relation to psychopathology. Psychological Medicine, 35, 163–174.
58.
NomuraM.DurbakLChanJ.SmithiesO.GustafssonJKorachK.PfaffD.OgawaS. (2002). Genotype/age interactions on aggressive behavior in gonadally intact estrogen receptor beta knockout (beta ERKO) male mice.Hormones and Behavior, 41, 288–296.
59.
OlivaA. (2004). La adolescencia como riesgo y oportunidad.Infancia y Aprendizaje, 21, 115–122.
60.
OlivaA. (2007). Desarrollo cerebral y asunción de riesgos durante la adolescencia.Apuntes de Psicología, 25, 239, 254.
61.
PausT. (2005). Mapping brain maturation and cognitive development during adolescence.Trends in Cognitive Science, 9, 60–68.
62.
PerryB. D. (2002). Childhood experience and the expression of genetic potential: What childhood neglect tells us about nature and nurture.Brain and Mind, 3, 79–100.
63.
ReynaV. F.FarleyF. (2006). Risk and rationality in adolescent decision making: Implications for theory, practice, and public policy.Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 7, 1–44.
64.
RomeoR. D.RichardsonH. N.SiskC. L. (2002). Puberty and the maturation of the male brain and sexual behavior: a recasting of behavioral potentials.Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 26, 379–389.
65.
RomeoR. D.McewenB. S. (2006) Stress and the Adolescent Brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences1094, 202–214.
66.
SadurníM.RostánC. (2004). La importancia de las emociones en los periodos sensibles del desarrollo, Infancia y Aprendizaje, 27, 105–114.
67.
SchoenbaumG.SetlowB. (2003). Lesions of nucleus accumbens disrupt acquisition of odor-guided discriminations and reversals.The Journal of Neuroscience, 23, 9833–9841.
68.
SchoreR. (1994). Affect regulation and the origin of the self.Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
69.
ShinL. M.WrightC. I.CannistraroP. A.WedigM. M.McmullinK.MartisB.MacklinM. L.LaskoN. B.CavanaghS. R.KrangelT. S. (2005). A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex responses to overtly presented fearful faces in posttraumatic stress disorder.Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 273–281.
70.
SpearL. P. (2000). The adolescent brain and age-related behavioral manifestations.Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 24, 417–463.
71.
SpearL. (2007). The developing brain and adolescent-typical behavior patterns: An evolutionary approach. EnRomerD.WalkerE. F. (Eds.), Adolescent psychopathology and the developing brain: Integrating brain and Prevention Science (pp. 9–30). Nueva York: Oxford University Press.
72.
SteinbergL. (2004). Risk taking in adolescence: what changes, and why?Annual New York Academy of Sciences,1021, 51–58.
73.
SteinbergL. (2005). Cognitive and affective development in adolescence.Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 69–74.
74.
SteinbergL. (2007). Risk-taking in adolescence: New perspectives from brain and behavioral science.Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 55–59.
75.
SterzerP.StadlerC.KrebsA.KleinschmidtA.PoustkaF. (2005). Abnormal neural responses to emotional visual stimuli in adolescents with conduct disorder.Biological Psychiatry, 57, 7–15.
76.
SticeE.SpporS.BohonC.SmallD. M. (2008). Relation between obesity and blunted striatal response to food is moderated by TaqIA A1 allele.Science, 322, 449–452.
77.
TaraziF. I.TomasiniE. C.BaldessariniR. J. (1999). Postnatal development of dopamine D1-like receptors in rat cortical and striatolimbic brain regions: an autoradiographic study.Developmental Neuroscience21, 43–49.
78.
TremblayR. E. (2000). The development of aggressive behavior during childhood: What have we learned in the past century?International Journal of Behavioral Development, 24, 129–141.
79.
TrevarthenC.AitkenK. J. (2003). Regulation of brain development and agerelated changes in infants' motives: The developmental function of regressive periods. EnHeimannM. (Ed.), Regression Periods In Human Infancy (pp. 107–184). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
80.
Van LeijenhorstL.CroneE. A.BungeS. A. (2006). Neural correlates of developmental differences in risk estimation and feedback processing.Neuropsychologia, 44, 2158–2170.
81.
Van LeijenhorstL.WestenbergP. M.CroneE. A. (2008). A developmental study of risky decisions on the cake gambling task: Age and gender analyses of probability estimation and reward evaluation.Developmental Neuropsychology, 33, 179–196.
82.
VenkatramanV.ChuahY. M. L.HuettelS. A.CheeM. W. L. (2007). Sleep Deprivation Elevates Expectation of Gains and Attenuates Response to Losses Following Risky Decisions.Sleep, 30, 604–609.
83.
VloetTKonradK.HuebnerT.HerpertzS.Herpertz-DahlmannB. (2008). Structural and functional MRI- findings in children and adolescents with antisocial behavior.Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 26, 99–111.
84.
WeinbergerD. R.ElvevagB.GieddJ. N. (2005). The adolescent brain: A work in progress.Washington, DC: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
