Impaired learning to dissociate advantageous and disadvantageous risky choices in adolescents.

ABSTRACT: Adolescence is characterized by a surge in maladaptive risk-taking behaviors, but whether and how this relates to developmental changes in experience-based learning is largely unknown. In this preregistered study, we addressed this issue using a novel task that allowed us to separate the learning-driven optimization of risky choice behavior over time from overall risk-taking tendencies. Adolescents (12-17 years old) learned to dissociate advantageous from disadvantageous risky choices less well than adults (20-35 years old), and this impairment was stronger in early than mid-late adolescents. Computational modeling revealed that adolescents' suboptimal performance was largely due to an inefficiency in core learning and choice processes. Specifically, adolescents used a simpler, suboptimal,

SUBMITTER: Jepma M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9021244 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature