title: Annual Research Review: Neural contributions to risk-taking in adolescence--developmental changes and individual differences.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Risk-taking, which involves voluntary choices for behaviors where outcomes remain uncertain, undergoes considerable developmental changes during childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. In addition, risk-taking is thought to be a key element of many externalizing disorders, such as ADHD, delinquency, conduct disorder, and substance abuse. In this review, we will discuss the potential adaptive and nonadaptive properties of risk-taking in childhood and adolescence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We propose that the changes in brain architecture and function are a crucial element underlying these developmental trajectories. We first identify how subcortical and cortical interactions are important for understanding risk-taking behavior in adults. Next, we show how developmental changes in this network underlie changes in risk-taking behavior. Finally, we explore how these differences can be important for understanding externalizing behavioral disorders in childhood and adolescence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We conclude that longitudinal studies are of crucial importance for understanding these developmental trajectories, and many of these studies are currently underway.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.|Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Eveline A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Crone
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.|Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anna C K
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: van Duijvenvoorde
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.|Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jiska S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Peper
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D041923:Adolescent Development / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D012309:Risk-Taking
keywords: Risk-taking behavior; adolescence; brain connectivity; developmental changes; externalizing disorders; individual differences; ventral striatum