Abstract

Is adolescent behaviour primarily driven by an exaggerated responsiveness to rewarding outcomes? Do adolescents take more risks due to difficulty in avoiding harm? How did they respond to a global threat like the Covid-19 pandemic? These are the questions which will be explored in this presentation, where together we will embark on a journey through the brain regions critical for regulating appropriate approach-avoidance behaviours, and observing how they evolve during development. The focus will centre on translational tasks utilised in our laboratory, along with EEG , including Pavlovian fear conditioning, extinction, and active and passive avoidance paradigms. I will share key findings from our research, revealing significant differences between adolescents and adults in their capacity to enhance early visual processing when exposed to learned danger signals. Furthermore, I will endeavour to integrate and discuss the implications of these findings. This involves challenging the prevailing notion that adolescents are less motivated or less capable of learning from negative outcomes. I will also discuss how our research influences current neurobiological models of adolescence, shedding light on this crucial phase of development. Additionally, I will explore how our findings shed light on why some adolescents are more vulnerable to experiencing reduced well-being and an increased likelihood of developing mental health disorders.