ADOLESCENT DECISION MAKING AND LEGAL COMPETENCIES

YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS TEENAGER SURVEY

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YOUTHFUL OFFENDERS ATTORNEY SURVEY

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NEUROPHYSIOLOGY OF ADOLESCENT DECISION MAKING

We use Event Related Potential (ERP) techniques to study brain development during adolescence in an effort to understand normative changes in decision making and risk taking during this period. The brain undergoes substantial structural and functional change during the decade of adolescence, and understanding these changes may contribute to the development of more effective educational and rehabilitative services, as well as to novel approaches that might mitigate negative outcomes for individuals at high risk for engaging in harmful behaviors. Presently, we are investigating the neural correlates of feedback processing and their relationship to executive function and decision making under conditions of uncertainty in adolescents and young adults.