The Role of the Salience Network in Adolescent Impulsivity: Insights from Memory Tasks and Neuroimaging

Background This study investigated potential behavioral and neural biomarkers of adolescent impulsivity by analyzing adolescent responses in a memory test and examining task-independent brain connectivity. Methods This research utilized immediate and delayed memory tasks, together with a similar distractor memory task (SMT), to examine adolescent impulsivity and its correlation with neural cognitive control strategies. Ninety-five healthy, right-handed teenagers (27 females, average age 14.9 years) participated in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions. Results In the behavioral response, elevated impulsivity correlated with more errors in target trials and a higher incidence of false alarms in catch trials. The main findings highlight significant neural activity and connectivity in the insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) that were modulated by behavioral responses and impulsivity. Furthermore, the coupling between the insula-locus coeruleus (LC) and dACC-LC exhibited a positive correlation with individual impulsivity scores, indicating that these neural connections serve as reliable indicators of impulsivity. Conclusions The results indicate that the connection between the salience network and the noradrenergic locus coeruleus may function as a consistent neural indicator of impulsivity. Our findings indicate that this method can discern reliable brain biomarkers for impulsivity and can guide interventions aimed at enhancing self-control during adolescence.