Most strikingly, virtually no group differences were observed in task performance (with the exception of Xiao et al., 2013). In other words, AU youth were able to complete the requisite cognitive and behavioural tasks with similar accuracy and speed as non-AU youth. Despite comparable performance, AU youth showed notably different patterns of brain response across the evaluated tasks. In line with what has been reported across other broader reviews (e.g., Jacobus & Tapert, 2013), prior to drinking, AU youth engaged fewer task-relevant brain regions (e.g., Norman et al., 2011; Wetherill, Castro, et al., 2013; Wetherill, Squeglia, et al., 2013), which shifted to a pattern of greater use of task-relevant regions once youth began drinking across two of the longitudinal studies (Wetherill, Castro, et al., 2013; Wetherill, Squeglia, et al., 2013). Compared with non-AU youth, AU youth also utilized numerous task-irrelevant regions (e.g., Caldwell et al., 2005; Schweinsburg et al., 2010; Squeglia et al., 2011; Squeglia et al., 2012a; Tapert et al., 2004b).
