Abstract:

With the development of cognitive neuroscience and technology, it became a newly research hotspot that investigate the developmental cognitive neural mechanisms of adolescents’ risky decision making. From the perspective of dual systems model (Social Affective Neural Network System and Cognitive Control Neural Network System), we expounded the changes of brain structures and functions which are associated with adolescents’ risky decision making, and focused on analyzing the latest studies of adolescents’ brain functional connectivity and brain networks. Then we discussed the main theoretical models of cognitive neural mechanisms on adolescents’ risky decision making: the dual systems model and the triadic model. Future directions should emphasize the examination, integration and innovation of the neural system models, and deeply explore the effects and neural mechanisms of Social Referencing Systems (such as peer influence, subculture) on adolescents’ risky decision making from the perspective of social cognitive neuroscience, as well as how to prevent and intervene adolescents’ high risky behaviors from the level of cognitive neuroscience.

Key words: risky decision making, adolescents, neural mechanisms, functional connectivity, neural system model