Since these findings appear somewhat divergent, neurocognitive functioning can be elucidated by considering normal prefrontal cortical development. Hooper, Luciana, Conklin, and Yarger (2004) found that among a group of healthy boys and girls, adolescents ages 14 to 17, performed better on tasks targeting the ventromedial prefrontal cortex than younger adolescents. Furthermore, average scores for only 17-year-old participants were still significantly lower than those reported for adults on the same tasks, offering further evidence that brain maturation occurs through adolescence and into young adulthood (Giedd, 2008; Hooper et al., 2004). Of interest are the gender differences in this maturation. Girls demonstrated a greater preference for infrequent punishment over possibly advantageous choices in a computerized card task. Also, female adolescents outperformed their male counterparts on a go/no-go task, indicating better sustained attention and inhibition of a prepotent response (Hooper et al., 2004).
