CTN Youth SIG Webinar: Neural Substrates of Risk-Reduction Interventions for Adolescents (July 18, 2025, 11am ET)

The CTN Youth SIG is pleased to invite you to an upcoming presentation/webinar:

Neural Substrates of Risk-Reduction Interventions for Adolescents

Friday, July 18th, 2025 (11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. ET)

Presenter: Uma Rao, MD
Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Pediatrics, and Psychological Science at University of California, Irvine (UCI); Director of Education and Research in Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC)

Adolescence is characterized by increased experimentation, which is helpful in the progression towards autonomy but also increases vulnerability to psychopathology. A temporal disassociation in the maturation of “socio-emotional” (reward) and “cognitive-control” (self-regulation) neural systems creates a period of poor decision-making and heightened vulnerability to risk-taking (reward-seeking) behavior with the onset of puberty. This presentation describes whether neural circuitry changes governing adolescent decision-making can be used to improve intervention programs seeking to deter risky behaviors, especially among African Americans who are disproportionately impacted by their negative consequences.

Register for the Youth SIG webinar here!

About the presenter: Dr. Uma Rao, is Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at UC Irvine. Her research is focused on adolescent mood and substance use disorders, including neurobiological and psychosocial predictors of first onset and longitudinal clinical course of these disorders among at-risk youth (especially early-life adversity). In addition, she is involved in translational intervention research, examining biopsychosocial predictors of response to pharmacological and psychosocial interventions for these conditions.

Posted on June 13, 2025.