In FH dense adolescents, compromised neural regulation of midline regions may have direct behavioral sequelae. The functional consequences of these findings may be evident in the poorer neurocognitive and academic performance of some individuals (Corral et al., 1999; Giancola et al., 1996; Hegedus et al., 1984; Najam et al., 1997; Poon et al., 2000), or mark behavioral disinhibition. However, in this sample, youth with greater familial AUD did not score differently from FHN youth on neuropsychological tests, and measures of behavioral inhibition were not linked to this pattern of activation. Thus, an alternative explanation for smaller magnitudes of vigilance-related activation with increasing FH density is that FH-dense adolescents were less challenged by the SWM condition than FHN youth, thus requiring fewer cognitive resources to complete the task. Future studies that parametrically manipulate task difficulty will help characterize how the default network develops across adolescence, and elucidate whether this finding supports an FH-related developmental lag. Additionally, studies that include participants with more behavioral problems might uncover a relationship.
