The teenage brain can be very confusing and emotional. Ideas and emotions can come out of nowhere from the mind’s imagination. Although the teen’s brain is very imaginative and creative their actions come from outside reactions and interactions. The explanation to these actions can range from peer pressure and identity confusion to chemical reactions in the hormonal part of the brain, (the limbic system) and the thinking part (the cortex). The teenage brain, and every other brain, controls everything you do but it’s not all imagination, it is also outside forces acting upon them. Inside the teenage brain there’s a ton of reactions going on from new hormonal messages. In the brain there are millions of nerve cells making up decisions and actions, all of these nerves work together to function. Just like roads throughout the world, all of these nerve strands intersect at a certain spot, resembling cities. These intersections are called nuclei. One of the major nuclei is the amygdala, this nucleus controls fear, sex, and rage. Not only does it control emotions but it can notice, before w...
In the essay “What’s Wrong With the Teenage Mind?” psychologist Alison Gopnik explores the issues surrounding young minds in today’s society and why they’re hitting puberty sooner and adulthood later. Gopnik suggest poor diet and lack of exercise could be a potential issues, she also presents various studies blaming brain circuitry and even speculating that the cause of today’s youth problematic mentality could be a result of an “evolutionary feature” in which humans have a prolonged childhood. Gopnik’s main concern about today’s adolescent mind, is a neurological one, Gopnik speculates that there’s an inability to sync their “control system” and their “crucial system”. Gopnik proposes a few solutions to the problem, such as more hands-on experience
Teenagers often act on impulses. Teenagers are still young and in between the adult and tenn stage. This often leaves teenagers emotions and acts to but unpridicatble and to fir them to act on impulse.
The ways these emotions and feelings are sometimes conveyed are sometimes seen as an outlandish acts and they are better known as abnormal adolescent behavior. Abnormal adolescent behavior occurs during the transition from childhood to adult. (Ages 12-17) Abnormal adolescent behavior can be best described as acts done by an adolescent that are not easily accepted into society. They are bizarre, wild and almost crazy acts. Some adolescents reach a stage where they begin to experience different things and some begin to act out wildly not being able to necessarily control themselves. Some digns of this disorder can be aggressive behavior that may harm or threaten other people or animals, destructive behavior that may damage or destroy property, precocious sexual activity and lying or theft. These signs and actions can lead to a higher chance of the adolescent having suicidal thoughts or attempts, academic difficulties, higher chances of injury and problems with the law and sexually transmitted diseases. What can or may cause or bring about this abnormal behavior in an adolescent may be rejection from parents, peers and ...
As Paul Thompson states in his article Startling Finds on Teenage Brains from the Sacramento Bee, published on May 25, 2001, “.These frontal lobes,which inhibit our violent passions, rash action and regulate our emotions, are vastly immature throughout the teenage years.” He also says that “The loss[of brain tissue] was like a wildfire, and you see it in every teenager.”. This loss of brain tissue plays a role in the erratic behavior of teens, who cannot properly assess their emotions and thoughts. During this period of brain tissue loss, teens are unpredictable, adults do not know what their teen’s next move will be, teens themselves do not even know what their next move will be. As we grow our brains develop, therefore teen brains are not fully developed, so they cannot be held to the same standards as adults.
McMahon’s “Inside Your Teenager’s Scary Brain” discusses how adolescent’s brains are delicate and can easily affect their development in a good or bad way, depending on the individual’s experiences. According to Jensen, a Harvard neuroscientist and senior neurologist at two Boston hospitals, “teenage years comprise one of the brain’s most critical periods of development”. She parallels her experiences with her own children with observations of teens in general. With new research continuing to surface, studies illustrate how susceptible juvenile’s brain are and how this could generate different techniques on how society, parents, and teachers handle them.
In a Ted Talk video by Adriana Galván “The teenage brain is really good at seeking out new experiences enjoying thrills and seeking out thrills.” That is because of the prefrontal cortex it is the part of the brain made for decision making and impulse control, because of that teens are more likely to seek out thrills than adults or children but that is because their lack of impulse control causes them to be reckless. In a Ted Talk video by Adriana Galván she mentions “that the brain matures and continues to do so” and “Your brain changes everyday and as you sit in this room your brain is reacting to my voice, to the person sitting next to you and your experiences ant the people you affiliate with shape the way your brain ultimately develops.” This means that although it is unsure if the brain keeps developing past the mid twenties it is a known fact that the brain constantly reacts and changes to the environment around it, which is completely different from the original belief of it over a decade ago. One example of the brains constant changes is in Romeo and Juliet when Friar Lawrence says “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes” (Act 2 Scene 2). Showing how
During the adolescents, stage evidence shows that teens emotions height during this age and therefore they become more emotionally active. This is due to the development of brain centers and signaling molecules of the brain's reward system. This is how the brain encourages or motivates behavior with the feeling of pleasure. “ These age-related changes shape how much different parts of the brain are activated in response to experience and in the terms of behavior, the urgency and intensity of emotional reactions.” As the brain matures throughout the teen years many of them face the challenge of emotional change for the first time. The parts of the brain that deals with emotions and allows for
One of the most complicated puzzles that have faced our society and you, the parents, is that of the teenage brain. The reason that this has been stumping our heads is because this puzzle isn’t even complete. The adolescent brain is developed from back to front creating many complications for their decisions. This both helps and damages us. With this ability, we have an easier ability to learn new things, easier time adapting to our environment, and we seek new thrilling experiences. The ways this hinders us is that we have bad decision making, emotions controlling our decisions, sensitivity to social and emotional information, and the seeking of immediate rewards. Although a teenager’s brain is not fully
Although this may seem like a huge indication on why teens do act upon impulse, it can not be blamed on the underdeveloped brain argument which is greatly proved in the article “On Punished and Teen Killers” by Jennifer Jenkins. Jenkins argues, “If brain development were the reason, then teens would kill at roughly the same rates all over the world”. With this brain loss it would be expected that all existing teens would receive the same rush and desire to murder, rape, commit aggravated assault or any other crime, but this is not true. The incident which Nathaniel Brazill committed is another example, he “shot to death an English teacher who would not let him say goodbye to two girls… he said he made a ‘stupid mistake’ but prosecutors argued that by bringing a gun to school he planned the crime”. This act cannot be labeled simply a “stupid mistake” because it was proven to be premeditated and not only did he bring the gun to school, but the fact that he was angry shows he did it on purpose and had the clear intention to kill. While research on brain tissue loss can help us to understand teens better, it cannot be used to excuse their violent or homicidal
Adolescence is a time when many teenagers are struggling to determine where they fit in the world. No longer a child, but not yet an adult, issues surrounding the decisions and rights of adolescents prove to be a difficult subject to tackle. Adolescents are gradually awarded various privileges such as the right to drive, smoke, and drink, meaning there is no clear defining moment when an adolescent is fully considered an adult. Because of this, research on adolescent brain development should be heavily considered when resolving issues surrounding the well being of adolescents.
It has been found that juvenile brains are not yet fully developed. The parts of the brain specifically still changing during the teen years include the brain circuitry involved in emotional responses and impulsive responses. Teen emotional reactions are intense and urgent (National Institute
During adolescence emotional reactivity is heightened, and the social environment is changing as adolescents spend more time with their peers than adults (Casey, 2008). To an adolescent, the value of positive information, as well as negative information may be exaggerated which leads to greater emotional reactivity and sensitivity during this growth period (Casey, 2008). This can heighten the incidence of addiction and the onset of psychological disorders (Casey, 2008). There are various theories that attempt to explain why adolescents engage in risky behaviour. One of these theories by Yurgelun-Todd stems from human adolescent brain development, and proposes that cognitive development during the adolescent period is associated with increasingly superior efficiency of cognitive control and affective modulation (Casey, 2008). This theory also suggest...
n.d. - n.d. - n.d. The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Retrieved November 30, 2013, from http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog-extra/the-adolescent-brain-beyond-raging-hormones.
a teenager is depressed. Brain development may be another cause since teen brains are still
Adolescence is a time of challenge and change for both teens and parents. Teens are at a stage in life where they face a multitude of pressing decisions -- including those about friends, careers, sex, smoking, drinking, drugs and parental values. At the same time, they are confronted with profound physical, social and emotional changes.