A Functional MRI Study of Exploratory Behaviors in Early Adolescence (P2.243)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the neural correlates of exploratory behaviors in early adolescence. BACKGROUND: The onset of adolescence is associated with an increase in the behavioral tendency to explore and seek novel experiences. However, this increase in exploratory behavior has rarely been quantified, and its neural correlates during the onset of adolescence remain unclear. Recently, work in adults has begun to characterize individual variability in exploration, and to associate greater exploratory tendencies with specific regions within the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (rlPFC). DESIGN/METHODS: Here we take advantage of a recently developed task to assess exploration, defined as the degree to which the relative uncertainty of rewards directs responding toward less well-evaluated choices, in a group of 62 girls examined near the onset of puberty (ages 11-13). In addition to behavioral measures, resting state functional MRI images were obtained from all participants. RESULTS: Behaviorally, this task divided our subjects into groups of explorers (N = 41) and non-explorers (N = 21). Notably, the degree of exploration was uncorrelated with a measure of risk aversion. When seed regions of interest within the rlPFC were used to interrogate resting state data, we identified a lateralized connection between the rlPFC and posterior putamen/insula whose strength differentiated explorers from non-explorers. Based on Granger causality analyses, the preponderant direction of neural influence may proceed from posterior to anterior, rather than vice versa. CONCLUSIONS: Together these data provide initial evidence that connectivity between the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior putamen/insula correlates with exploratory tendencies emerging in early adolescence. Study Supported by: State of California