Considerable developmental change also occurs during adolescence in cortical and subcortical brain regions critical for modulating responding to natural rewards (e.g., social stimuli, novelty, food), as well as to the rewarding properties of alcohol and other drugs with abuse potential. Of particular importance are developmental changes in limbic regions such as the nucleus accumbens and amygdala, along with projections of the critical reward-relevant neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA) to these regions and the PFC (see Doremus-Fitzwater et al., 2010, for review). Given these changes, it would be surprising indeed if adolescents did not differ from those at other ages in the way they responded to natural rewards, as well as to alcohol and other drugs.
