10.1184/R1/6614792.v1
K. Suzanne Scherf
K. Suzanne
Scherf
Marlene Behrmann
Marlene
Behrmann
Ronald E. Dahl
Ronald
E. Dahl
Facing changes and changing faces in adolescence: A new model for investigating adolescent-specific interactions between pubertal, brain and behavioral development
Carnegie Mellon University
2012
Brain development
Puberty
Gonadal hormones
Face recognition
Developmental tasks
Fusiform face area
Functional connectivity
Own age bias
Own race bias
Gender bias
Species bias
2012-04-01 00:00:00
Journal contribution
https://kilthub.cmu.edu/articles/journal_contribution/Facing_changes_and_changing_faces_in_adolescence_A_new_model_for_investigating_adolescent-specific_interactions_between_pubertal_brain_and_behavioral_development/6614792
<p>Adolescence is a time of dramatic physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes as well as a time for the development of many social–emotional problems. These characteristics raise compelling questions about accompanying neural changes that are unique to this period of development. Here, we propose that studying adolescent-specific changes in <em>face processing</em> and its underlying neural circuitry provides an ideal model for addressing these questions. We also use this model to formulate new hypotheses. Specifically, pubertal hormones are likely to increase motivation to master new peer-oriented developmental tasks, which will in turn, instigate the <em>emergence of new social/affective components of face processing.</em> We also predict that pubertal hormones have a fundamental impact on the re-organization of neural circuitry supporting face processing and propose, in particular, that, the <em>functional connectivity,</em> or temporal synchrony, between regions of the face-processing network will change with the emergence of these new components of face processing in adolescence. Finally, we show how this approach will help reveal why adolescence may be a period of vulnerability in brain development and suggest how it could lead to prevention and intervention strategies that facilitate more adaptive functional interactions between regions within the broader social information processing network.</p>