Teenage BrainAre they really different from and adult brain?

- Channen Cripps

An adults brain works to make choices and act accordingly in each situation. The teenage brain does not appear to work the same way.

Scientists use to think that the brain was complete and the structure was more or less fixed by the age of three!

Chart of developmental process

In Molly Edmonds article on the comparison of teenage brain to the adult brain, she presents the idea of comparing the teenage brain to an entertainment center that hasn’t been hooked up completely. With loose wires, the speaker system isn’t working with the DVD player, which in turn hasn’t been formatted to work w/ the television. Also, the remote control hasn’t arrived.

This comparison is not so far off.

The brain is an entertainment sytem?

Prefrontal cortex Synapses

The brains remote control is the prefrontal cortex. (a section of the brain that weights outcomes, forms judgments and controls impulses and emotions)

The prefrontal cortex communicates with the other sections of the brain through connections called synapses.(These are like the wires of the entertainment system)

Think of these wires as the synapses…

The more wires, the more problems!

How does this work?The brain works by pruning away the

synapses that it doesn't need in order to make the remaining ones much more efficient in communicating.

This process starts in the back of the brain and moves forward, so that the prefrontal cortex, is the last to be trimmed.

As the connections are trimmed, the are coated with myelin.

MYELINWhat is that ?

Myelin is an insulating substance that coats the synapses to protect them.

The prefrontal cortex is not fully developed in the teen years; in fact, it may not complete development until your mid 20’s.

And if you don’t have the remote control to call the shots in the brain, using the other brain structures may be difficult.

Studies have shown that most of the mental energy that teenagers use while making decisions is at the back of the brain, where as in adults, its from the frontal lobe area.

When teenagers do use the frontal lobe to make decisions, is seems they over do it, calling upon much more of the brain to get the work done, compared to an adult.

Because adults have sculpted these synapses, they can make decisions much more quickly.

Undeveloped prefrontal cortex and a..

Strong desire for reward leads to…

Stereotypical teenage behavior!

Teen Brain functions & behavior Hormones are the explanation for

most of what goes wrong in the adolescent years.

Teens may seems like an emotional time bomb

Studies show that the brain is behind much of this craziness.

When you take into consideration everything we covered so far in this slide show it is obvious that sometimes parents/adults just don’t understand.

However it becomes quite clear that we just do not get it either.

Adults prefrontal cortex curbs any thought of doing something risky.

It is the prefrontal cortex and heightened need for reward that drives some of the most frustrating teenage behavior.

Developing

In the developing prefrontal cortex, synapses are selected based on whether they’re used or not

Behaviors that shape the brain are more likely to be maintained if started at this age.

The brain is acting like a sponge; soaking up new information and change to make room for it, a concept known as plasticity.

The teenage years don’t have to be gloomy- plasticity can also help teens pick up new skills.

Before the brain is fully molded is a great time to take up new hobbies and sports even. Just knowing that the teenage brain needs more time and experiences to develop may help both parents and children survive adolescence.

Resources:

•Are teenage brains really different from adult brains? - By: Molly Edmonds

•Google.com/images