A Clinical Call to Action -How Developmental Translational Neuroscience can Catalyze Adolescent Substance Use Treatment: The Example of ADAPT.

As the field more actively recognizes the unique facets of adolescent neural, social, and behavioral development, it is clear that adult models of addiction are incongruent with the nature of the developing brain, adolescent substance use behavior, and behavioral outcomes in substance use treatment with adolescents. The present review highlights how developmental translational neuroscience can address this gap by informing and guiding the creation and implementation of more effective, neurodevelopmentally-targeted treatment programming for adolescents. This is illustrated with the example of Adolescent Developmentally-Appropriate health Promotion Therapy (ADAPT), a novel substance use treatment grounded in developmental translational (integrated human brain and behavioral) empirical research. Ultimately, this review aims to provide clinicians working in direct care settings with adolescents engaged in substance use a contemporary perspective on how and why developmental translational neuroscience is relevant to the clinical context, as well as a concrete example of how developmental translational neuroscience can inform substance use treatment for this high need and underserved age group.