Study offers clues as to why teens are more susceptible to addiction and mental illness
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 07:00
in Psychology & Sociology
(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at the University of Pittsburghs Moghaddam Laboratory, led by biochemist Bita Moghaddam have found after studying rat brains that minor differences in activity levels in certain brain parts, between adults and teens might help explain why teens tend to be more susceptible to both addiction and mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia. As the team explains in their upcoming paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, differences in the way the dorsal striatum responds to rewards may offer an explanation as to why teens have such problems.