Risk-taking often occurs in childhood as a compex outcome influenced by individual, family, and social factors. The ability to govern risky decision-making in a balanced manner is a hallmark of the integrity of cognitive and affective development from childhood to adulthood. The Triadic Neural Systems Model posits that the nuanced coordination of motivational approach, avoidance and prefrontal control systems is crucial to regulate adaptive risk-taking and related behaviors. Although widely studied in adolescence and adulthood, how these systems develop in childhood remains elusive. Here, we show heterogenous age-related differences in the triadic neural systems involved in risky decision-making in 218 school-age children relative to 80 young adults. Children were generally less reward-seeking and less risk-taking than adults, and exhibited gradual increases in risk-taking behaviors from 6 to 12 years-old, which are associated with age-related differences in brain activation patterns underlying reward and risk processing. In comparison to adults, children exhibited weaker activation in control-related prefrontal systems, but stronger activation in reward-related striatal systems. Network analyses revealed that children showed greater reward-related functional connectivity within and between the triadic systems. Our findings support an immature and unbalanced developmental view of the core neurocognitive systems involved in risky decision-making and related behaviors in middle to late childhood.

中文翻译：

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童年时期参与风险决策的三元神经系统的发育

冒险行为通常发生在童年时期，是一种受个人、家庭和社会因素影响的复杂结果。以平衡的方式管理风险决策的能力是从童年到成年认知和情感发展完整性的标志。三元神经系统模型认为，动机方法、回避和前额控制系统的微妙协调对于调节适应性冒险和相关行为至关重要。尽管在青春期和成年期得到了广泛研究，但这些系统在儿童时期如何发育仍然难以捉摸。在这里，我们展示了 218 名学龄儿童与 80 名年轻人参与风险决策的三元神经系统中与年龄相关的异质性差异。与成人相比，儿童通常较少寻求奖励和较少冒险，并且从 6 岁到 12 岁，冒险行为逐渐增加，这与奖励和风险处理背后的大脑激活模式的年龄相关差异有关。与成人相比，儿童在控制相关的前额叶系统中表现出较弱的激活，但在与奖励相关的纹状体系统中表现出较强的激活。网络分析显示，儿童在三元系统内部和之间表现出更大的与奖励相关的功能连接。我们的研究结果支持了对儿童中晚期参与危险决策和相关行为的核心神经认知系统的不成熟和不平衡的发展观点。