Study shows teenage and adult rat brains anticipate reward differently

New research shows that the teenage rat brain anticipates rewards differently than the adult rat  brain. In a University of Pittsburgh study, rats were tested using a task where a reward was anticipated. Electrodes were implanted in the different brain regions of adult and teenagers rats to monitor neural activity. When a reward was anticipated, researchers found activity in the dorsal striatum brain region  -- responsible for habit formation, decision making and learning -- in the teenage brain but not in the adults brain. According to scientists, adolescence is the time where most metal illnesses like depression and schizophrenia manifest; understanding neural mechanisms like these are vital to prevent the illnesses.