Evidence also grows concerning important changes in subcortical processes during adolescence. Especially important are increases in dopaminergic activity during early adolescence in pathways linking limbic, striatal, and prefrontal areas (Wahlstrom et al., this issue). These changes, documented in both human and animal studies, have been linked to changes in reward-directed activity, as described by Doremus-Fitzwater et al. (this issue), but as Dahl and Forbes (this issue) point out, the pubertal period is a time of changes in appetitive behavior more generally, and not simply in reward-driven behavior. Dopamine, of course, plays a role in reward anticipation and reward-seeking, but it also has been implicated in motivated action more broadly (Angier, 2009). It makes perfect evolutionary sense that individuals are more motivated by appetitive inclinations, more oriented toward sensation-seeking, and more willing to take risks during adolescence, when they must leave the natal environment and seek out mates (Casey et al., 2008; Spear, 2010; Steinberg, 2008). From an evolutionary perspective, adolescent risk-taking is a good thing, not a bad one.
