TY - JOUR PY - 2008// TI - Reward-related processing in the human brain: Developmental considerations JO - Development and psychopathology A1 - Fareri, Dominic S. A1 - Martin, Laura N. A1 - Delgado, Mauricio R. SP - 1191 EP - 1211 VL - 20 IS - 4 N2 - The pursuit of rewarding experiences motivates everyday human behavior, and can prove beneficial when pleasurable, positive consequences result (e.g., satisfying hunger, earning a paycheck). However, reward seeking may also be maladaptive and lead to risky decisions with potentially negative long-term consequences (e.g., unprotected sex, drug use). Such risky decision making is often observed during adolescence, a time in which important structural and functional refinements occur in the brain's reward circuitry. Although much of the brain develops before adolescence, critical centers for goal-directed behavior, such as frontal corticobasal ganglia networks, continue to mature. These ongoing changes may underlie the increases in risk-taking behavior often observed during adolescence. Further, typical development of these circuits is vital to our ability to make well-informed decisions; atypical development of the human reward circuitry can have severe implications, as is the case in certain clinical and developmental conditions (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). This review focuses on current research probing the neural correlates of reward-related processing across human development supporting the current research hypothesis that immature or atypical corticostriatal circuitry may underlie maladaptive behaviors observed in adolescence.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 0954-5794 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0954579408000576 ID - ref1 ER -