The brain continues to develop throughout the teenage years. In fact the time around puberty may be particularly sensitive period of development for some brain networks involved in social cognition and higher level executive functions. Many of the brain changes in adolescence depend on interactions with the environment. We are interested in identifying the specific brain changes that occur in adolescence, and understanding both how brain changes influence behavior and how different experiences influence patterns of brain development in adolescence.
Representative PublicationsMorningstar, M., Mattson, W.I., Nelson, E.E. (2022). Longitudinal change in neural response to vocal emotion in adolescence. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, in press March 2022 PMID: 35323933
Guyer, A.E., Silk, J.S. Nelson, E.E. (2016). The neurobiology of the emotional adolescent: from the inside out. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 74-85Nelson, E.E., Jarcho, J.M., Guyer A.E. (2016). Social re-orientation and development: an expanded and updated view. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 118-127.Nelson, E.E., Lau, J.Y.F., Jarcho, J.M. (2014). Growing pains and growing pleasures: How Emotional Learning Guides Development. Trends in Cognitive Science, 18, 99-108.
