In addition to the added risks of normal adolescent development, it is also the time when symptoms of a variety of mental illnesses often manifest, including mood disorders, eating disorders, and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia (Paus et al., 2008; Pine, 2002; Sisk and Zehr, 2005; Volkmar, 1996). During this period there is a vast array of neurobiological changes that drive everything from a cascade of hormonal signals that initiate puberty (Sisk and Zehr, 2005), to increased cognitive ability and motivational changes (Doremus-Fitzwater et al., 2009; Luna et al., 2004). Understanding precisely how the brain develops through adolescence, and relating such changes to both normal behavioral tendencies and pathological conditions, is critically important to public health. Here we review some of the behavioral, and neurodevelopmental changes of adolescence and discuss several models that connect them, including our own hypothesis of reduced processing efficiency.
