Neuromaturation in the form of brain volume, structure, and neurochemistry changes during adolescence occurs along with numerous behavioral alterations. Among these, the acquisition and demonstration of advanced cognitive skills is particularly notable. Higher-order cognitive functions such as working memory, planning, problem solving, and inhibitory control are developing during adolescence (Anderson et al. 2001; Conklin et al. 2007) and historically linked to maturation of the frontal lobes (Rubia et al. 2003; Sowell et al. 1999). The study of brain structure-function relationships has considerably burgeoned with the use of fiber tractography and fMRI, providing an appreciation for more distributed neural circuitry including fronto-subcortical networks as the seat of complex cognitive and executive skills (Royall et al. 2002). The correspondence between white matter development during adolescence and neurocognitive performance has been demonstrated in a number of recent studies. Intellectual functioning in youth is associated with the development of white matter circuitry in bilateral frontal, occipito-parietal, and occipito-temporo-parietal regions (Schmithorst et al. 2005). The reading skills of children and adolescents improve with white matter changes in the internal capsule, corona radiata, and temporo-parietal regions
