A developmental reduction of the excitation:inhibition ratio in association cortex during adolescence
Bart Larsen, Zaixu Cui, Azeez Adebimpe, Adam Pines, Aaron Alexander‐Bloch, Max Bertolero, Monica E. Calkins, Raquel E. Gur, Ruben C. Gur, Arun S. Mahadevan, Tyler M. Moore, David R. Roalf, Jakob Seidlitz, Valerie J. Sydnor, Daniel H. Wolf, Theodore D. Satterthwaite
Abstract
Adolescence is hypothesized to be a critical period for the development of association cortex. A reduction of the excitation:inhibition (E:I) ratio is a hallmark of critical period development; however, it has been unclear how to assess the development of the E:I ratio using noninvasive neuroimaging techniques. Here, we used pharmacological fMRI with a GABAergic benzodiazepine challenge to empirically generate a model of E:I ratio based on multivariate patterns of functional connectivity. In an independent sample of 879 youth (ages 8 to 22 years), this model predicted reductions in the E:I ratio during adolescence, which were specific to association cortex and related to psychopathology. These findings support hypothesized shifts in E:I balance of association cortices during a neurodevelopmental critical period in adolescence.