Dir, Allyson L.Hummer, Tom A.Aalsma, Matthew C.Hulvershorn, Leslie A.2019-08-262019-08-262019-04Dir, A. L., Hummer, T. A., Aalsma, M. C., & Hulvershorn, L. A. (2019). Pubertal influences on neural activation during risky decision-making in youth with ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 36, 100634. doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100634https://hdl.handle.net/1805/20561OBJECTIVE: Risk-taking during adolescence is a leading cause of mortality; Neuroscience research examining pubertal effects on decision-making is needed to better inform interventions, particularly among youth with attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) and disruptive behavior disorders (DBD), who are particularly prone to risky decision-making. We examined effects of pubertal development on risky decision-making and neural activation during decision-making among youth with ADHD/DBDs. METHOD: Forty-six 11-12-year-olds (29.4% girls; 54.9% white; Tanner M(SD) = 2.08(1.32)) who met DSM-5 criteria for ADHD/DBD completed the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) during fMRI scanning. We examined effects of Tanner stage, sex, and age on risky decision-making (mean wager at which individuals stopped balloon inflation) and neural activation in the middle frontal gyrus and the ventral striatum during the choice and outcome phases of decision-making. RESULTS: Those in earlier pubertal stages made riskier decisions during the BART compared to those in later Tanner stages (β=-0.62, p =  .02). Later pubertal stage was associated with greater activation in the left middle frontal gyrus (β=0.61, p = .03) during the choice phase and in the right ventral striatum in response to rewards (β=0.59, p = .03). CONCLUSION: Youth with ADHD/DBD in later stages of puberty, regardless of age, show greater ventral striatal activation in response to rewards.en-USPublisher PolicyADHDDisruptive behavior disordersDecision-makingNeuroimagingPubertyfMRIArticle