The Wild World of a Teen Brain
By, Shambhavi Mishra
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TEENAGERS
V.S. ADULTS
I’m
sure I am not the only one who believes that being a teenager is not easy. It’s
the end of your childish life and a head start into adulthood; the middle stage
where everything changes. From staying attentive in our high school classes,
running to after school clubs, pushing our limits on our sports teams, and
having to make time for friends and family, we officially have the hardest
life; but that’s the beauty of it. In our adolescence, the chaos that plays out
in the real world is nothing compared with what’s going on in our heads. .
Being as busy as we are, how are our brains coping with us? More importantly,
how are they responsible for our rebellious behavior?
Since 1991, the National
Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda,
Md. have been performing a project by testing teenage brains to determine how
the brain develops from childhood into adolescence and on into early
adulthood. Using MRI’s to peek at kids’
brains, Dr. Jay Giedd, project manager, observes physiological changes that
account for adolescent behaviors such as our emotional outbursts, recklessness,
and rule-breaking. Since our brains are already 90%-95% of their adult sizes at
age 6, and we are born equipped with most of the neurons our brain will ever
have- it’s been believed that the remaining neuron growth occurs during our
late teens and affects some of our highest mental functions.
Our brains grow in
stages, starting from the back and ending in the front. The first stages are easy to develop, but it’s the last stage, the stage that completes
an adult, the stage of maturity. Our motive for making bad decisions, daring our lives,
and being crazy teenagers mainly starts from our lack of maturity. Other than
the fact that the brain is still developing, another key component to the
reason of our behavior is our hormones. The hormones being very active in the
brain create a “tinderbox of emotions”. This specific system of the brain, the
limbic system, causes us to trust our emotions to find an answer rather than
our practical intellect. We rely heavily
on the amygdale, a structure in the brain associated with emotional reactions,
which makes our feelings reach a flash point more easily as if becoming a very
sensitive time bomb. Once it explodes then our bizarre actions and bad
decisions come into play.
Our parents know about the limited character of our
teenage brain, but what they don’t know is that making mistakes is part of how
our brains will grow. So next time you attempt to do something crazy, you can
say that you're not an adult yet; being wild is part of your world!
I chose this article, “Teen Brain" because it was an article that everyone could relate to, us being teenagers going through a life, literally at two entirely different crossroads. This article was very informative and I found it very interesting because I personally love brain studies. The fact that it explained about how our “wild” teen minds work was an appealing perspective.
Source:TIME Magazine,Your Brain:A User’s Guide, “Teen Brain” by, Claudia Wallis.(pg 62-65)
More Info: These "last stages" that you have mentioned and explained are the final developments of the frontal cortex. This part of our brains develops until our mid-20s, so we are actually "teens" until that part of our lives. It is responsible for our executive decisions in life. The ones that tell us which club to choose and whatnot.
ReplyDeleteThought: If we truly have not developed our full capabilities to make mature and responsible decisions, then why is such a large amount of responsibility and trust still given to us? We are drivers before the decision-making region of our brain has developed. Is that wise? Do our brains tend to develop quickly enough to justify this responsibility?
I see this decision-making based on emotions commonly with teenagers, so in that respect I agree with the article. What part of the brain develops to "mature" humans?
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the article when it explains that by having teenagers make mistakes, their brain grows and that teenagers make these mistakes because they have not reached a level of maturity yet. However, people have mature experiences everyday. Therefore, it is impossible to have no sense of maturity. So if everyone has the same amount of brain cells that are capable of functioning, how can some teenagers make decisions that are rational while others make decisions that even the slightest level of maturity will advise against?
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that you decided to do the teenage brain. Do you intend to be a psychologist or were you just interested? I also found it fascinating that the article highlights that our bad decisions are not always to be viewed negatively, as it's often seen as.
ReplyDeleteI found this article interesting as well. I too am interested in brain studies and why we, as humans do the things we do. It is intriguing to see how much a teenager's (our) emotions take part in our decision making instead utilizing our intellectual wits. The fact that teenagers rely on their emotions instead of using "our practical intellect" can be noted for later explanation when teenagers do "something crazy". This is also good information to store for having an excuse when a bad decision has been made, so thanks!
ReplyDeleteMom: Why did you do [insert bad decision here]?
Teenager: Because my brain cells are not yet fully developed and mature yet, and my hormones are more influential in decision making as opposed to my intellectual wit. :)
I've always heard that teenagers are notorious for making bad decisions and for being rebellious, but I've never really understood the science behind it. I can't believe that our hormones and emotions actually play a larger role in decision making than rationality! That sounds kind of dangerous.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this article, it was difficult for me to decide whether or not giving teenagers so much power over their lives was smart or if it was actually good and helped them learn. I feel like the topic of teenagers is bittersweet, we have so many adolescent brains as said in the article that are not completely matured or developed and result in them making dangerous terrifying decisions, but on the other hand their are just as many teens trying to change the sigh of every teenage parent and show that they do have power of themselves.
ReplyDeleteI like this article it definitely gave me some food for thought.
This article helped me understand more about why teenagers do what they do. Something new I learned is that our brains are developed 90-95% when we are just 6 years old! Although the reasons for why teenagers do some reckless things isn't completely their fault, it is still up to them to make the best decision they possibly can and not to let this article be an excuse. This is an article we can all relate to and this has helped me understand the teenage brain a lot better.
ReplyDeleteConsidering what we have learned in this article, should we set such high expectations on teenagers? If science knows that teenage brains act irrational and are not fully developed how can we expect teenagers to get straight As and be an Olympic athlete? Or maybe schools should try to take a more nurturing way of teaching, with less stress. Or at least teach students how to control emotions and act rationally.
ReplyDeleteI understand that you mentioned that a ton of things bounce around in our brains as adolescents and that the last stage before developing our brain into its most prominent stage, is the stage of maturity. Do boys pass this stage faster then girls? If so, how? In my opinion, the answer to this question lies in the hormones of each gender. These hormones may affect how each gender makes decisions and how poor they really are.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is really interesting for me because it deals with the science behind the way teenagers behave. But do you think this applies to every teenager? Also, do you think that hormones can affect you in different stages of life or do they just affect teenagers?
ReplyDeleteThe teenage stage is a tough one and we can all agree on that. It is a hectic life and we have to cope with an assortment of emotions. Happiness, Sadness, Stress, and others play a big part in our changing lives. I would also have to think that people mature at different times and maybe that plays a role in the changing of our minds. Life is perceived differently by teenagers than when they were children. This stage is like the passing bridge between childhood and adulthood. Sometimes life can be very hard and sometimes in can be fruitful.
ReplyDeleteIs the teenage stage the only point at which the decisions are mainly influenced by emotion? Or is it all throughout your life until that part of your brain is developed? I really enjoyed reading this article. Now, I will find myself thinking about the decisions I am making and how much my emotions affect it! It also will make me think of any teenage character from a book differently, because it is not just the character's personality affecting decisions but their limbic system.
ReplyDeleteI never thought there was an actual scientific reason why teenagers made bad decisions. I thought they just did it for the fun of it. However, learning about the brain in earlier years at school, this post makes sense! Hormones go crazy during the adolescence years, understandingly. However, my question is, is there a way to control your hormones? I have heard this "saying" before, but is it really possible? Do you need to practice? Is there a reason why some teenagers can stop themselves and why other teenagers get too into making trouble? Hm...
ReplyDeleteI find this very interesting considering that adults always perceive bad decisions as an act of disobedience and get frustrated when teens don't do what they should be doing. The fact that it's because of their level of maturity, hormones, and their not fully developed brain makes it a lot easier to understand why teens do things thats adults disapprove of.
ReplyDeleteVery nice article. I loved your usage of metaphor (comparing the teenage brain and the hormones that affect it to a tinderbox of emotions). In addition, it was very relate-able and informative.
ReplyDeleteThis article was interesting, seeing the science behind teenage angst and emotional rollercoasters. It seems inappropriate for high school to be such a stressful and critical point of our lives when are brains are still developing and we are prone to making emotional decisions. However, I think if good values are instilled in us by parents and teachers then poor decisions can be kept at bay.
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ReplyDeleteThis article thoroughly interested me in the sense that we don't learn to "control" ourselves until we have a fully grown brain. I can relate to this article, because I make amateur mistakes all the time. For example, let's say my eye is hurting. If my eye is hurting, for some reason I keep rubbing my eye unintentionally, even though it ultimately ends up harming the eye to a higher degree. Also, what is the reason you chose this particular article over the rest of the possibilities you had?
ReplyDeleteI think this article was a great way to demonstrate how teens' brains work. I absolutely love the way you made the reader think and relate to the studies and stay intrigued with what the article is about. Comparing adults to teenagers and their emotions. Using the term "tinderbox of emotions" and explaining what that is, I think that was very well explained. Also explaining how teenagers feel in life and why they feel certain ways, why all the feeling blunder over them using science to explain. This article had great explanation and had a great tone for relating to others.
ReplyDeleteI find this article very interesting! The teenage brain continues to intrigue me because, , myself am a teenager. This article really helps delineate why my emotions and other adolescents are very turbulent. Thanks for sharing this article!
ReplyDeleteThis article was great because it was interesting. I found it very informative that people's brains are already formed 90 to 95 percent by age six. However, it wasn't a surprise when the article talked about how teenagers don't get the maturity part of their body until they are an adult. Overall, this article was illuminating.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting article... I agree that being a teenager is the craziest part of life. We are expected of so much but we can only do so much. We are still becoming mature and in my opinion we need more time! We should have a more easier time... especially when our parents are upset with ourselves.
ReplyDeleteThis is an article that won't bore you while you're reading because it is relatable. We are under a lot of pressure as teenagers and some people don't understand that it isn't fully our fault. Parents need to understand that being teenagers we make mistakes and we learn from them. Like you said, this is how our brain develops.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed a very interesting topic to brood on and teenagers are like the most vulnerable living beings on earth. So understanding them and their internal and mental changes is really important. This article was really good and many people of our age can easily relate to it.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very intriguing and I definitely want to show this to my parents. I used to always think that when someone did something crazy or bizarre, they were just acting childish and weren't really "grown up" but after reading this, I was definitely proven wrong. I think this article was very good to write about because it is something all of us can relate to and can have a lot of discussion about.
ReplyDeleteThis article reminds me of the constant debate of how early school should start; especially in the case of high schoolers, adolescents do not meet their essential hours of sleep. This article is simply another reminder of how much stress can carry through with the advent of the pressure set upon teenagers. This must be viewed as a more important topic, as we are growing in stages at this point in time, and lack of sleep impedes this significantly.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I liked how this topic was one that we as teens can really relate to. I agree that as teens, we are still growing and maturing, learning from our mistakes. Therefore, maybe we shouldn't be judged too harshly when we make mistakes as hormones are at work affecting our emotions, which are affecting our decisions, especially as many factors are causing us stress at this time.
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart as i was able to show this to my parent and have them realize im not crazy, im just a teenager. Besides that I like how this article is probably the only thing kids our age can really relate to on this blog.
ReplyDeleteThis article was extremely intresting because it is definately a topic that every one of us can relate too. I used to think that the reason why someone would actu immature was because, well, they were immature. However after reading this article, I realized that a plausible reason an individual would act that way is because the part o their brain that manages self-control, is underdeveloped. I cant wait to show this to my parents!
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