Overall then, there appears to be support for a relationship between executive functioning and AUDs for both boys and girls; however, the nature of this relationship appears to differ across gender. An examination of normal development suggests that in general, the brain regions responsible for improved attention to stimuli and reduced risky decision-making develop earlier in young girls than in boys (Giedd, 2008). Since these cognitive processes are implicated in maladaptive drinking patterns, together these findings suggest that these neurocognitive differences may be involved in the diverging trajectories for male and female adolescent drinkers. It is important to note that brain development does not occur in isolation from the rest of the body. For both boys and girls, the plasticity of the adolescent brain means that neuronal connections being formed are largely influenced by experience; thus, environmental factors, such as socialization processes discussed below, assist in generating either increased risk or protection (White, 2004).
