Developmental trajectories of prefrontal activation underlying emotional inhibitory control from adolescence to young adulthood: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

Abstract Background Understanding the neural maturation of emotional inhibitory control (IC) during adolescence and young adulthood is critical, yet remains understudied. To address this, we examined age-related changes in prefrontal activation during an emotional Flanker task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Methods Twenty-six adolescents (ages 13–16, 15 male) and thirty young adults (ages 18–22, 16 male) completed an emotional Flanker task while behavioral responses and fNIRS data were recorded. Results Both groups exhibited a significant emotional Flanker effect, with slower responses on incongruent than congruent trials. fNIRS results revealed distinct developmental patterns in prefrontal activation. Adolescents exhibited pronounced O ₂ Hb changes predominantly in the right DLPFC, suggesting a localized and right-lateralized response to emotional conflict. In contrast, young adults showed a more symmetrical and integrated a DLPFC activation pattern, reflecting greater neural coordination and maturation of the inhibitory control network. Conclusions These findings indicate a developmental transition from focal, right-dominant prefrontal engagement in adolescence to more distributed bilateral recruitment in young adulthood, marking refinement in neural mechanisms underlying emotional IC. By delineating normative trajectories of prefrontal activation, this study establishes a developmental benchmark that may facilitate the identification of atypical neural profiles and associated disruptions in emotion–cognition regulation among individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.