How Adolescents Transition to Better Decision-Making

The study published in _PLOS Biology_ by Vanessa Scholz and Lorenz Deserno investigates the shift in decision-making from adolescence to adulthood. **Adolescents exhibit high decision noise**, leading to suboptimal choices. However, as they mature, this noise decreases, allowing for more sophisticated decision-making. The research involved 93 participants aged 12 to 42, who completed three reinforcement learning tasks. Findings indicate that noise levels strongly correlate across tasks and mediate age-related improvements in decision-making. The study suggests that adolescents, with their developing brains, have fewer cognitive resources and thus rely on simpler decision strategies. This makes them susceptible to emotional and social influences, impacting their decision-making. As these cognitive resources develop, adolescents transition to more complex decision processes. The study highlights the computational changes in decision-making and suggests future research should explore the neural basis of decision noise and its relevance to neurodevelopmental disorders.