When Is an Adolescent an Adult? Assessing Cognitive Control in Emotional and Nonemotional Contexts
作者研究了青少年在情绪情境下认知控制能力的成熟年龄。传统上18岁被视为成年，但法律和社会政策对成年年龄定义不一。作者使用情绪go/no-go任务和功能性神经影像，测量了110名13至25岁纽约和洛杉矶社区样本在持续负面和正面情绪状态下的认知控制。结果发现，18至21岁个体在短暂和持续负面情绪下认知表现比21岁以上成人差，同时其认知控制相关的前额-顶叶回路活动减弱，而情绪处理相关的腹内侧前额叶皮层活动增强。这表明情绪情境下的认知能力在21岁后出现发展性转变，与前额叶回路动态变化一致。该发现可能为年龄相关社会政策提供参考。
An individual is typically considered an adult at age 18, although the age of adulthood varies for different legal and social policies. A key question is how cognitive capacities relevant to these policies change with development. The current study used an emotional go/no-go paradigm and functional neuroimaging to assess cognitive control under sustained states of negative and positive arousal in a community sample of one hundred ten 13- to 25-year-olds from New York City and Los Angeles. The results showed diminished cognitive performance under brief and prolonged negative emotional arousal in 18- to 21-year-olds relative to adults over 21. This reduction in performance was paralleled by decreased activity in fronto-parietal circuitry, implicated in cognitive control, and increased sustained activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, involved in emotional processes. The findings suggest a developmental shift in cognitive capacity in emotional situations that coincides with dynamic changes in prefrontal circuitry. These findings may inform age-related social policies.