ABSTRACT
This review addresses the unique behavioral changes occurring during adolescence, and their neural correlates. It is organized into four sections. First, we identify four cardinal behavioral changes that characterize adolescence. Second, we describe the general course of brain development, with an emphasis on the unique aspects pertaining to adolescence. Third, we restrict our focus to three neurobehavioral systems that, together, can account for the typical adolescent behavioral pattern. This triadic representation of behavioral determinants is crystallized in the Triadic Model. The Triadic Model is particularly helpful to understand how the orchestration of neural changes with time can modulate behavior in typically developing individuals, but also in psychopathology. Finally, we provide a review of the few functional neuroimaging studies of reward-related behaviors in adolescents that can inform hypotheses generated by the Triadic Model.
