Brain Scans Shed Light on Teen Peer Pressure

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Brain Scans Shed Light on Teen Peer Pressure

Study Suggests Teens May Improve Ability to Resist Peer Pressure Over Time

By Bill Hendrick

WebMD Health News

Reviewed by J. , MD

March 9, 2011 -- Specific areas in the brain that may be linked to sensations of

reward and resistance to risk-taking become increasingly active in early

adolescence, indicating that over time the youths may be improving their ability

to resist peer pressure, a new study suggests.

Researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to study

blood flow in the brains of 24 girls and 14 boys when they were 10 years old and

again at age 13, after the youngsters moved into early adolescence.

During the scans, the children were shown photos of faces making neutral, angry,

fearful, happy, and sad expressions.

At the end of the study the researchers analyzed the scans and found that

activity had increased significantly in the three-year period in regions of the

brain that are considered reward processing centers.

The researchers also took into consideration what the children told them on

study surveys about their ability to resist peer influences and engagement in

risky or delinquent behavior.

Brain Activity and Peer Pressure

Increases in brain activity in the regions associated with reward processing and

emotional regulation correlated over time with increases in the children’s

self-reports of resistance to peer influence, according to the study.

“It’s just that peer pressure is increasing because they spend a lot more

time with peers during this time and less with family,†H. Pfeifer,

PhD, of the University of Oregon, says in a news release. “So it is a good

thing that resistance to such influences is actually strengthening in their

brains.â€

The researchers suggest that it would be helpful to explore whether basic

training in emotion regulation techniques may support resistance to peer

pressure and prevent risky behavior during the transition period to adolescence

and beyond.

“This is basic research that hopefully is laying the foundation for future

studies with even more clinical relevance,†says Pfeifer, director of the

university’s Developmental Social Neuroscience Lab. “We really have a lot to

learn about how the brain responds to really basic emotional stimuli across

development.â€

Pfiefer says that if teenagers can learn to “better modulate their emotional

response to a peer who is trying to persuade them to do something unwise, they

will be less susceptible to that external influence.â€

The study is published in the March 10 issue of the journal Neuron.