Pubertal maturation is associated with increases in sensation seeking (Galvan et al. 2007) and may play a role in reward sensitivity. Forbes et al. (2010) found less striatal and more medial prefrontal cortex activity in response to reward outcome (win, loss, or no-change) in adolescents with more advanced pubertal maturation compared to similar-aged adolescents with less advanced pubertal maturation. Further, the putative role of the medial prefrontal cortex in self-processing and social cognition suggests that maturing adolescents may consider the social context and peer influences when responding to reward (Forbes et al. 2010).
