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Review
. 2020 Nov 15:418:117099.
doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.117099. Epub 2020 Aug 19.

The associations of comorbid substance use disorders and psychiatric conditions with adolescent brain structure and function: A review

Danielle S Kroll  1 , Dana E Feldman  1 , Szu-Yung Ariel Wang  1 , Rui Zhang  1 , Peter Manza  1 , Corinde E Wiers  1 , Nora D Volkow  2 , Gene-Jack Wang  3
Affiliations
Review

The associations of comorbid substance use disorders and psychiatric conditions with adolescent brain structure and function: A review

Danielle S Kroll et al. J Neurol Sci. .

Abstract

Adolescence is a period of rapid neural and behavioral development that often precipitates substance use, substance use disorders (SUDs), and other psychopathology. While externalizing disorders have been closely linked to SUD epidemiologically, the comorbidity of internalizing disorders and SUD is less well understood. Neuroimaging studies can be used to measure structural and functional developments in the brain that mediate the relationship between psychopathology and SUD in adolescence. Externalizing disorders and SUD are both associated with structural and functional changes in the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex in adolescence. The neural mechanisms underlying internalizing disorders and SUD are less clear, but evidence points to involvement of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. We also highlight independent contributions of SUD, which may vary in certain ways by the substances assessed. A deeper understanding of the neural basis of the relationship between psychopathology and SUD will allow for more informed interventions in this critical developmental stage.

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