Testosterone during Puberty Shifts Emotional Control from Pulvinar to Anterior Prefrontal Cortex.

Adolescents can show distinct behavioral problems when emotionally aroused. This could be related to later development of frontal regions compared with deeper brain structures. This study found that when the control of emotional actions needs to be exerted, more mature adolescents, similar to adults, recruit the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC). Less mature adolescents recruit specific subcortical regions, namely the pulvinar and amygdala. These findings identify the subcortical pulvino-amygdalar pathway as a relevant precursor of a mature aPFC emotional control system, opening the way for a neurobiological understanding of how emotion control-related disorders emerge during puberty.