摘要：Summary (Adolescents and “risky business”: a psychobiological perspective). - Human adolescence is
mainly characterised by an elevated number of psychological, biological and behavioural changes. This rapid
as well as challenging change in the “inner state” during adolescence in humans seems to share a number of
similarities with the age-dependent alteration of the normal and “linear” development in other mammalian
species. Hence, in order to further investigate the biological bases of these idiosyncratic age-related
responses, it seems worth to develop and to study suitable animal models for this developmental phase. Aim
of the present review is to show experimental results indicating an elevated similarity between humans and
rodents (mice and rats) in a number of psychological (elevated levels of novelty seeking as well as of harmavoidance
due to a reduced anxiety) behavioural (elevated exploration of novel as well as potentially
dangerous environments and peculiar vulnerability to incentive properties of drugs of abuse) and neurobiological
(developing state of the underlying cortical pathways implicated in the above mentioned responses)
processes. These findings could prove really useful in view of a general deeper comprehension of this age
period and helpful in developing earlier and more effective prevention strategies aimed at reducing the social
impact of dangerous and reckless behaviours frequently shown by human adolescents (drug addiction,
undesired pregnancy, AIDS and car accident).
