Behavioral and fMRI studies show increased subcortical activation when making risky choices and less activation of prefrontal cortex, as well as immature connectivity between emotion processing and control systems overall (Hare et al. 2008). A more specific characterization of these patterns using comparisons of low- and high-risk gambles indicated that high-risk choices activate reward-related ventral striatum and medial prefrontal cortex, whereas low-risk choices activate control-related dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Interestingly, activation of the ventral medial prefrontal cortex was positively associated with risk-taking propensity, whereas activation of the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex was negatively associated with risk-taking propensity (Van Leijenhorst et al. 2010), suggesting that distinct neural profiles may contribute to the inhibition or facilitation of risky behaviors.
