Another obvious difference between the studies listed in Table 1 is the wide range of tasks used and the degree to which they were developmentally appropriate. Task choice is not a trivial issue, as differences in task engagement and comprehension can have significant effects on neural activation. While some studies designed the tasks to maximize the probability that developmental populations would find them engaging (Galván et al., 2006; van Leijenhorst et al., 2009), such as through the use of cartoon-like stimuli and by describing the task as a video game (e.g., “your goal is to help the pirate in this video game earn as much money as possible”), others simply implemented tasks that were designed for adults (e.g., Bjork et al., 2004; May et al., 2004). This latter approach is problematic for several reasons. First, the use of fMRI tasks designed for adults is done under the assumption that youth will find the adult-appropriate tasks as engaging as adults do. Second, this also assumes that children and adolescents will comprehend the tasks as well as adults. Third, this approach may
