By Rachel Chin '23
The teenage years, as some may describe, are years of exploration, excitement, and risk taking.
It is a time where teenagers are learning more about their identity, their interests, and making decisions about what they want for their future. But what makes teenagers more likely to try new things and not evaluate the consequences of their reaction? The answer: The Teenage Brain.
The human brain is by far one of the most complex and intriguing organs in the human body. The brain is responsible for everything our body does; from tasks like decision making and memory to the overlooked but essential ones like breathing, the brain is one of the most important organs in the human body. However, the brain does not finish its structural development until the age of twenty five, meaning the teenage brain is still developing throughout the teenage years and into young adulthood. It's expected that the teenager’s developing brains leave them susceptible to spontaneous decision making.
The Basics of the Brain
The human brain consists of three central parts: hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain. The hindbrain includes the upper part of the spinal cord and the brain stem, which regulates respiration, and the cerebellum which controls body movements and coordination. The midbrain is the uppermost part of the brain stem and is responsible for reflex motions and eye movements. The forebrain is mostly made up of the cerebrum and is the largest section of the brain. The cerebrum is responsible for all intellectual thoughts and actions including memory, imagination, and recognition.
How Does the Teenage Brain Function
The teenage brain is a highly complicated and detailed body system, as it must respond accordingly to the many mixed impulsive and cautious signals that it receives. . The cells within the brain are trying to connect the continuously changing regions of the adolescent brain, and a fatty acid known as myelin creates white matter in the brain showing an increasing connectivity through the regions of the brain. In the process of myelination, layers of myelin are produced and wrap around the neuronal axons acting as a transmitter of information. This process improves the brain's ability to communicate and its learning abilities. Since the process of myelination begins from the back of the brain up, the prefrontal cortex is the last part of the brain to develop, which is responsible for decision making, personality expression, and social behavior. As opposed to adults who do most of their decision making in the prefrontal cortex, teenagers make decisions from their amygdala. The amygdala is a mass of almond-shaped gray matter in the brain's cerebral hemisphere which is responsible for emotions in your bodies. As a result, teenagers tend to have a harder time with self control and are more susceptible to peer pressure, as they are using emotions to drive many of their actions.
How Does Stress Affect the Teenage Brain
With adolescent brains still developing and a deep churning of emotion , teenagers are especially susceptible to stress. When a person experiences stress, three important hormones are activated and released in the body. First, epinephrine and norepinephrine are released into the bloodstream where they initiate a flight or fight reaction in the body. The second reaction is when the brain releases more cortisol hormones than it is capable of releasing.Longitudinal structural neuroimaging studies have shown that the teenage brain is more responsive to glucocorticoids, corticosteroids involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats and which produce anti-inflammatory activity, than the adult brain, since more of it is released while regions like the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala are still developing.
These hormonal factors put together makes the teenage brain more affected by stress. There is a negative feedback reaction in the pituitary glands, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and prefrontal cortex. The teenage brain is more sensitive to cortisol than adults, so high levels of cortisol can affect the brain's ability to function as well as cause weight gain, weakened muscles, and acne. In a lab experiment run by UCLA, neuroscientist Adriana Galván tested the release of cortisol in teenagers compared to adults under the same stress conditions and the corresponding reaction from the brain. Tests showed that under the same levels of stress, adolescents will release more cortisol than adults. Galván hypothesized that there would be greater activity in the ventral striatal and ventral prefrontal cortex in the teenage brain during a stressful decision making situation.
What is the Significance of the Teenage Brain?
With the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala remaining immature in teenagers well into the mid twenties, teenagers are more likely to make risky decisions. Stress messes with the brain's ability to function in the areas still developing, especially the prefrontal cortex which manages the body's "reward system." These underdeveloped parts of the brain are what greatly distinguish a teenage brain from an adult brain. Stress only induces the risky and unpredictable decisions that adolescents make. Teenage behavior is natural and there is no "cure" to stress' effect on the brain. However, being aware of how the brain functions during the teenage years is still important. Being mindful that your brain can make irrational decisions will help you to reevaluate the possible consequences of your approach to a problem.
References
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