The study investigates the impact of peers on adolescent risk-taking behavior and its neural underpinnings. Adolescents, but not adults, exhibited increased risk-taking when observed by peers, as evidenced by a higher number of risky decisions and subsequent crashes. Using fMRI, the researchers found that adolescents showed greater activation in reward-related brain regions (ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex) during the presence of peers, which predicted subsequent risk-taking behavior. In contrast, cognitive control regions showed less recruitment in adolescents compared to adults, and activity in these regions did not vary with social context. The findings suggest that the presence of peers increases adolescent risk-taking by enhancing sensitivity to the potential reward value of risky decisions. This effect is not explained by explicit peer pressure but rather by the neural 'vulnerability' resulting from the discordant maturation of brain systems involved in incentive processing and cognitive control.The study investigates the impact of peers on adolescent risk-taking behavior and its neural underpinnings. Adolescents, but not adults, exhibited increased risk-taking when observed by peers, as evidenced by a higher number of risky decisions and subsequent crashes. Using fMRI, the researchers found that adolescents showed greater activation in reward-related brain regions (ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex) during the presence of peers, which predicted subsequent risk-taking behavior. In contrast, cognitive control regions showed less recruitment in adolescents compared to adults, and activity in these regions did not vary with social context. The findings suggest that the presence of peers increases adolescent risk-taking by enhancing sensitivity to the potential reward value of risky decisions. This effect is not explained by explicit peer pressure but rather by the neural 'vulnerability' resulting from the discordant maturation of brain systems involved in incentive processing and cognitive control.