Resiliency in Adolescents at High Risk for Substance Abuse: Flexible Adaptation via Subthalamic Nucleus and Linkage to Drinking and Drug Use in Early Adulthood
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 05/25/2012
Weiland BJ et al. – The findings suggest that resiliency in early adolescence may protect against alcohol problems and drug use, although the direction of this effect is currently unknown. This protective factor may relate to executive functioning as supported by the finding of a neural link shared between resiliency and working memory in basal ganglia structures. The subthalamic nucleus, a key basal ganglia structure, may adaptively link flexible impulse control with cognitive processing, potentially modulating substance use outcomes.
