Scimex: A small study suggests adolescents find it harder than young adults to delay gratification, and tend to opt for smaller immediate rewards over larger rewards later. The German and US scientists also found differences between the two groups in the connectivity of two areas of the brain, suggesting teenage impulsiveness may be a side effect of brain development. In a study of 50 participants, researchers report that adolescents were more likely than young adults to choose small, early rewards over large, late rewards, and that the preference correlated with the strength of neural connections between the striatum and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex brain regions, suggesting potential brain correlates of impatience in adolescents and providing insight into how brain development affects behavior.
