Study shows adolescents prone to depression, addiction

An interesting note today from the folks at Psych Central about a research study finding that teens may have a greater risk of depression and addiction than adults. Working with laboratory animals (rats) in a task-reward study, scientists at the University of Pittsburgh found that adolescents had increased activity in an area of the brain (dorsal striatum) which is associated with habit formation, decision-making and motivated learning. Such activity was not seen among the adult rats. The research is interesting and will continue. For the Psych Central piece <click here>