Victoria P Fairchild1, Catherine A Aronowitz2, Daniel D Langleben1,2, An-Li Wang3. 1. Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA. 2. Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 USA. 3. Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029 USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: Adolescents and young adults are a critical target for smoking prevention efforts. Health education is a key approach to these efforts, yet little is known about how adolescents and young adults process health information. One novel approach to understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive processing of public health communications is to use neuroimaging techniques to map the brain regions involved and make inferences about the neural systems engaged in the processing of health information. We reviewed recent studies that employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to examine the brain responses of adolescents and young adults to anti-smoking health messages and videos. FINDINGS: This narrative literature review found that the medial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus were the brain regions most commonly engaged in response to health warnings. Developmental factors modulate the relationship between brain regions, regulated emotional reaction, and frontal regions that are responsible for decision making. SUMMARY: Research that integrates neurophysiology and behavior to study adolescent and young adult neurocognitive responses to health messaging is an important tool for identifying optimal methods to communicate the health hazards of smoking to this vulnerable population.
PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW: Adolescents and young adults are a critical target for smoking prevention efforts. Health education is a key approach to these efforts, yet little is known about how adolescents and young adults process health information. One novel approach to understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive processing of public health communications is to use neuroimaging techniques to map the brain regions involved and make inferences about the neural systems engaged in the processing of health information. We reviewed recent studies that employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to examine the brain responses of adolescents and young adults to anti-smoking health messages and videos. FINDINGS: This narrative literature review found that the medial prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus were the brain regions most commonly engaged in response to health warnings. Developmental factors modulate the relationship between brain regions, regulated emotional reaction, and frontal regions that are responsible for decision making. SUMMARY: Research that integrates neurophysiology and behavior to study adolescent and young adult neurocognitive responses to health messaging is an important tool for identifying optimal methods to communicate the health hazards of smoking to this vulnerable population.
Entities:
Keywords:
Adolescents and young adults; Anti-smoking health warnings; Brain response; EEG; fMRI
Authors: Nitin Gogtay; Jay N Giedd; Leslie Lusk; Kiralee M Hayashi; Deanna Greenstein; A Catherine Vaituzis; Tom F Nugent; David H Herman; Liv S Clasen; Arthur W Toga; Judith L Rapoport; Paul M Thompson Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2004-05-17 Impact factor: 11.205