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Review
. 2019 Feb 6:693:29-34.
doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2017.11.055. Epub 2017 Dec 5.

Development of the emotional brain

B J Casey  1 , Aaron S Heller  2 , Dylan G Gee  3 , Alexandra O Cohen  4
Affiliations
Review

Development of the emotional brain

B J Casey et al. Neurosci Lett. .

Abstract

In this article, we highlight the importance of dynamic reorganization of neural circuitry during adolescence, as it relates to the development of emotion reactivity and regulation. We offer a neurobiological account of hierarchical, circuit-based changes that coincide with emotional development during this time. Recent imaging studies suggest that the development of the emotional brain involves a cascade of changes in limbic and cognitive control circuitry. These changes are particularly pronounced during adolescence, when the demand for self regulation across a variety of emotional and social situations may be greatest. We propose that hierarchical changes in circuitry, from subcortico-subcortical to subcortico-cortical to cortico-subcortical and finally to cortico-cortical, may underlie the gradual changes in emotion reactivity and regulation throughout adolescence into young adulthood, with changes at each level being necessary for the instantiation of changes at the next level.

Keywords: Adolescence; Development; Emotion; Limbic; Prefrontal cortex.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Illustration of hierarchical changes in brain circuitry from subcortical to cortical with age
Regional changes in connectivity from childhood to adolescence to adulthood are indicated by the colors of pink (subcortico-subcortical), orange (subcortico-cortical), green (cortico-subcortical) and blue (cortico-cortical). Ventromedial prefrontal cortex, vmPFC; lateral prefrontal cortex, lPFC; ventral striatum, VS; amygdala, Amy.
Figure 2
Figure 2. A model of how cortical-subcortical connectivity between the medial PFC and amygdala mediates the relationship between subcortical-subcortical connectivity and emotional cue-reactivity
Subcortical-subcortical connectivity is associated with more false alarms to emotional cues whereas greater cortical-subcortical (medial PFC-amygdala) connectivity is associated with fewer false alarms. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex, vmPFC; ventral striatum, VS.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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