ArticleBiological psychiatry2013
Frontal lobe γ-aminobutyric acid levels during adolescence: associations with impulsivity and response inhibition.
Article in Biological psychiatry, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03220776 (Imaging Framework for Testing GABAergic/Glutamatergic Drugs in Bipolar Alcoholics), which is not on this map. Cited by 108 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Imaging Framework for Testing GABAergic/Glutamatergic Drugs in Bipolar Alcoholics
Who cites it
108 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 173 citations in OpenAlex.
- The resting-state brain activity signatures for addictive disorders.Med (New York, N.Y.) · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Dose-Dependent Effects of Catecholaminergic Modulation on Interference Control: Role of Baseline GABA and Glx in Cortico-Subcortical Networks.Human brain mapping · 2025Trial
- Non-invasive brain stimulation modulates GABAergic activity in neurofibromatosis 1.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Succeeding in deactivating: associations of hair zinc levels with functional and structural neural mechanisms.Scientific reports · 2020Trial
- Thalamic Gamma Aminobutyric Acid Level Changes in Major Depressive Disorder After a 12-Week Iyengar Yoga and Coherent Breathing Intervention.Journal of alternative and complementary medicine (New York, N.Y.) · 2020Trial
- The Management of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Adolescents with Obesity.Advances in therapy · 2026Review
- Review
- Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 in the anterior cingulate cortex predicts individual differences in motor impulsivity but not in risky decision-making.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Developmental trajectories of glutamate and the variable clinical course of ADHD in youth.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Age- and alcohol-related differences in adolescent neurometabolite levels.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Neurochemical changes in GABA+, Glx, and the excitatory/inhibitory ratio in the calcarine cortex with healthy aging.NeuroImage · 2025Article
- A multimethod examination of impulsivity and its association with gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, and other neurometabolite levels in youth who do and do not use alcohol.Addictive behaviors · 2025Article
- Revisiting the Role of Serotonin in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: New Insights from Preclinical and Clinical Studies.Clinical drug investigation · 2025Review
- Relationships between GABA + and Glx concentrations with age and inhibition in healthy older adults.Brain structure & function · 2025Article
- GABA and Glx levels in cortico-subcortical networks predict catecholaminergic effects on response inhibition.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Adolescent maturation of cortical excitation-inhibition ratio based on individualized biophysical network modeling.Science advances · 2025Article
- Adolescent maturation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex glutamate:GABA and cognitive function is supported by dopamine-related neurobiology.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Article
- Modeling the developing nervous system: a neuroscience perspective on the use of new approach methodologies in developmental neurotoxicity testing.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2025Review
- The Neuroendocrine Regulation of Reproductive Behavior and Emotional Control by Kisspeptin.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025Review
48 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe brain undergoes major remodeling during adolescence, resulting in improved cognitive control and decision-making and reduced impulsivity, components of behavior mediated in part by the maturing frontal lobe. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), the main inhibitory neurotransmitter system, also matures during adolescence, with frontal lobe GABA receptors reaching adult levels late in adolescence. Thus, the objective of this study was to characterize in vivo developmental differences in brain GABA levels.
methodsProton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used at 4 T to acquire metabolite data from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the parieto-occipital cortex (POC) in adolescents (n=30) and emerging adults (n = 20).
resultsACC GABA/creatine (Cr) levels were significantly lower in adolescents relative to emerging adults, whereas no age differences were observed in the POC. Lower ACC GABA/Cr levels were significantly associated with greater impulsivity and worse response inhibition, with relationships being most pronounced for ACC GABA/Cr and No-Go response inhibition in adolescent males.
conclusionsThese data provide the first human developmental in vivo evidence confirming frontal lobe GABA maturation, which was linked to impulsiveness and cognitive control. These findings suggest that reduced GABA may be an important neurobiological mechanism in the immature adolescent brain, contributing to the reduced yet rapidly developing ability to inhibit risky behaviors and to make suboptimal decisions, which could compromise adolescent health and safety.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.