Blog 6

While reading the article "Inside The Teen Brain," it was interesting to learn more about why teens make poor, impulsive decisions and have drastic mood swings. When I was a teenager, I did a lot stupid things and made poor choices. After reading this article and learning how a teenage brain functions and everything thing that affects it, my irresponsible behavior seems to make more sense. Also, having a better understanding of the teen brain, prepares me for when my kids reach that age. Until the past decade, neuroscientists believed the brain was fully developed by the time a child reached puberty. It turns out that it's not fully developed in most people until their early 20's. Different regions of the brain are developing on different timetables, the last part of the brain to mature is in charge or making sound judgement and calming unruly emotions. According to researchers, new experiences for teens, especially those with a "frisson" of danger or the thrill of the new, tap into a teenager's so-called reward system. This is a set of neurons that link emotional centers to many other parts of the brain and that can produce feelings of intense pleasure. This is the same set of neurons that are affected by certain illicit drugs that release dopamine, one of the brains chemicals or neurotransmitters that are responsible for arousal and motivation. At the same time, other research has shown that levels of another neurotransmitter, serotonin, appear to decline temporarily in most adolescents, making them more likely to act impulsively. This explains a lot of why I was so irresponsible as a teen. Now as an adult, I look back and can't believe some of the reckless and dangerous things I did. In other words, I did things that made me "feel good," regardless of the consequence. Another fascinating thing was the "pruning," or "use or lose it" system for ensuring that the brain nourishes only the neurons and synapses that are useful. The excess of synapses means the young adolescent can't easily keep track of multiple thoughts, and it can't gain instant access to critical memories and emotions that allow adults to make judicious decisions. In relation to that information, a line that stood out to me was, "Good judgement is learned, but you can't learn if you don't have the necessary hardware." (Yurgelun-Todd.) As a mother of two young boys, I don't necessarily look forward to the teenage years, especially after everything I put my mother through. But one thing I need remember as parent is, Teens literally think differently than adults, so their baffling behavior may reflect cluelessness, not stubborness. (Roberta Hotinski)