The Neuroscience of Adolescence
Introduction
Adolescence is a unique period with a significant but short period of emotional change, social change and physical change. It is a period where teens' emotions and self awareness will be heightened like increased sensitivity, mood swings or worriness of how people perceive them. It is important to understand how brain development works so people can understand the teens going through the period and not just mark them as immature. We should know how the brain works during this period because it may actually help them have better behaviors contrary to popular belief.
What happens during adolescence
During adolescence the brain goes through many changes up until late 20s to make the brain more mature. These things include synaptic pruning, myelination, neurochemical changes and delayed maturation of association regions. Synaptic pruning is something that happens during adolescence. Synaptic pruning is where the brain's weaker neural connections are eliminated, and stronger ones that are constant in use are reinforced making the brain more efficient. This means that an individual adolescent brain is shaped by what they learn and the choices that keep making because those will be reinforced and be a strong neural connection in the brain. Also myelination, where myelin is fatting coating that wraps around the fibers that allows neurons to travel faster and more efficiently, decision continues to develop, speeding up communication between brain regions like improving coordination and decision making but it is uneven development across brain regions Also there are neurochemical changes where there is excitatory and inhibitory balance in the prefrontal cortex. The inhibition (Gaba) may not rise too much and the excitatory can decrease over time to make the excitatory and inhibition signal balanced in the brain, making adolescents' brains which can explain adolescents . Unlike motor regions in the area, association regions have high plasticity like social cognition and emotional regulation have high synaptic plasticity which means they go through a lot of structural and functional changes, which can explain why adolescents are so sensitive to their environment and education. All this explains that adolescents go through many changes in their brain to be able to mature and explain why they behave the way they behave.
Important brain Regions
The important brain regions in Adolescence are the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala , hippocampus and the reward system. For example, the prefrontal cortex serves an important purpose in decision making, judgment, reasoning and planning. In this brain region synaptic pruning and myelination are taking place but since its connections to other brain regions are still developing, it can make adolescents more impulsive and have unregulated emotion. Next is the limbic system which is focused on reward processing, emotions , reward and social behavior, in this region the pubertal hormones target the amygdala , making adolescents more sensitive to rewards and punishment. Also increased dopamine activity in this area can increase motivation but also increase risk taking which serotonin helps with because it can regulate impulse control. Next is the hippocampus it can help adolescence transform a short term memory into a long term as they spend their youth making new memories and the hippocampus can help with emotional regulation in teens because it connects the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex, making memories linked to emotions, which is important when emotional regulation and social cognition are developing.
Why do teenagers think and feel differently?
Scientists and policymakers saw adolescent brains as more of a burden than a strength but if we actually look at why teenagers behave a certain way we can actually see that it is not a burden and it can be a strength. They thought they were risk machines who lacked decision-making skills but they are not total risk machines if you look at the neuroscience of it their prefrontal cortex, which is the last brain region to develop and since it is charge of decision-making teenagers are likely to act on impulse, however risk taking is a social affliction shift towards peer- based interactions its not only humans by encouraging separation from the comfort and safety of family but also foster development it allows them to acquire social skills.. While that may be true that adolescents are more likely to be risk takers and it can lead them to harm, scientists now see the adolescent brain as a cognitive behavioral, and neurological flexibility that allows teens to explore and adapt to their shifting and outer worlds, and as we discussed because the structural brain remodeling(synaptic pruning, myelination) can make adolescents brain more flexible to learn and adapt new things. Also teenagers have heightened sensitivity due to the amygdala which is the regulator for emotion, it has been shown that the sensitivity can lead to inappropriate behavior like substance use but scientists have also found that the heightened sensitivity in adolescence can make adolescence sensitive to political conditions if they don't like them which can lead them into making a peaceful protest which can possibly help change the conditions which is a plus factor. Also do the amygdala teenagers can unfortunately be prone to get depression and be suicidal if that area is very heightened. Also many people think that when kids become teens they shift away from their parents but that is not the case. A study found that teens shift their choices to align with the risky behavior of the parents rather than their peers. This shift is supported by increased activation in regions of the brain related to reward, including the ventral stadium and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Also people also think that changes in the brain during adolescence make teens more sensitive to social information related to acceptance by peers, but a study findings does not support their idea , instead they found that activity in regions such as ventromedial prefrontal cortex- a brain area removed to evaluation of self-tended to peak during mid-adolescence , especially for information related to status. Also as we discussed that the undeveloped prefrontal cortex can make teens make bad decisions their value to how they are identified can be leveraged to promote healthy decision making. In
Factors that influence brain development
There are many factors that can influence brain development, possibly help it or destroy it. For example, sleep is a good influence. You need enough sleep for memory consolidation, synaptic pruning and overall brain plasticity. Also Nutrition is a good influence on essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and spots the formation of neurogenesis(formation of neurons and synaptenous(formation of neural connections ). Malnutrition during prenatal and early childhood stages can impair cognitive and emotional development Stress is a bad influence it can affect the brain by affecting the structure and function making rich environments vital Exercise is a good influence on the brain it can help with memory, learning and self regulation
Positive relationships are a good influence on the brain. Positive social interaction can help with emotional regulation and provide good dopamine so your mood can improve and you can feel good. Lastly substance use is a bad influence since adolescence is a crucial period for brain development and maturation in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex and undergoes synaptic pruning and myelination the brain is sensitive , substances like alcohol can disturb this process making structural changes,cognitive impairments and risk of addiction, so straying away from these substances is the best in the long run So by getting enough sleep, adequate exercise, lowering stress, amping up nutrition and staying away from harmful substances the goal of a healthy brain with be achieved.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Adolescence is a period from pre teen to early adult where the brain goes through many changes so the brain can mature. It goes through synaptic pruning, the brain getting rid of the unused connections and making the reused connections stronger, for example when you are leaning something over and over that neural connection will get stronger. Also brain regions in the brain explain why teenagers behave the way they do for example since the prefrontal cortex is not developed yet it might make teens engaged in risk taking situations but they usually do it du their peer reactions which can also make them develop social skills so contrary to what people might think the teenage brain isn't just a burden. In addition heightened sensitivity due to amygdala and even ventral striatum can make teens engage in substance use but also carry out peaceful protests. Lastly things like sleep, exercise, nutrition, positive relationships, not indulging with harmful substances and lowering stress all contribute to a healthy brain and adolescents if they follow these things will have a healthy brain too. The adolescent brain is a complicated thing and there are many factors and brain regions that go into it but once we figure it all out it will be easier to understand adolescent instead of judging them.
Citations
Mualem R, Morales-Quezada L, Farraj RH, Shance S, Bernshtein DH, Cohen S, Mualem L, Salem N, Yehuda RR, Zbedat Y, Waksman I and Biswas S (2024) Econeurobiology and brain development in children: key factors affecting development, behavioral outcomes, and school interventions. Front. Public Health 12:1376075. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1376075
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