Adolescent Brain Development And Its Effects
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The document discusses adolescent brain development and its implications. It notes that the prefrontal cortex, responsible for reasoning and problem solving, develops last. During adolescence, the brain undergoes synaptic pruning and myelination in the frontal lobes. This results in improved abstract thinking abilities but also impaired emotional control and judgment. Teens may engage in risky behavior due to a less developed prefrontal cortex. The document emphasizes the importance of supporting adolescent well-being, competence, confidence, connections, character and sleep for healthy development.
Adolescent Brain Development And Its Effects
- 1. Adolescent Brain Development: Behavioral Implications
- 2. Adolescence Adolescence is defined as the transition from childhood to adulthood or the psychological, social and emotional changes that accompany puberty
- 3. Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development Adolescence: Ages 12-18 (or 20 or 22 or 24) Identity versus role confusion A time for testing limits, for breaking dependent ties, and for establishing a new identity. Major conflicts center on clarification of self-identity, life goals, and life's meaning. Failure to achieve a sense of identity results in role confusion.
- 5. Brain Development Overview It now appears the brain continues to change into the early 20's with the frontal lobes, responsible for reasoning and problem solving, developing last.
- 7. Synaptic Growth Spurt •Between seven and 11, the brain undergoes a huge spurt of growth of connections just like they were doing around 18 months to two. •Most of this growth is in the temporal lobes and in the parietal lobes.
- 8. Temporal Lobes The temporal lobes handle auditory information. But deep down within the temporal lobes is a structure called the hippocampus, and it is responsible for memory. The part of the brain between, seven and 11, that works really efficiently and is growing a lot and developing a lot is the part of the brain that handles memory and shows tremendous growth.
- 10. Synaptic Pruning The first change after this synaptic growth spurt is a selective pruning which takes place. In adolescence, most of this pruning is taking place in the frontal lobes. The adolescent loses approximately 3 percent of the gray matter in the frontal lobes.
- 11. The Results of Synaptic Pruning • Red indicates grey matter which is mainly responsible for information processing (neuron bodies). • Blue indicates myelination • These changes may parallel a pruning process that that appears to follow the principle of "use-it-or-lose- it:" neural connections, or synapses, that get exercised are retained, while those that don't are lost.
- 12. Synaptic Pruning • Researcher Jay Giedd compares this pruning to Michelangelo with a block of marble. He begins to sculpt away until David emerges. • This is precisely what is going on in the adolescent brain, starting around 11. The brain is pruning away, sculpting away excess material, excess connections, to make a more refined, more efficient, more adult brain.
- 13. Adolescent Brain Development: Myelination • The second change is in myelination; in adolescence, it is not finished. The last part of the brain to myelinate is the frontal lobes. And myelination is not complete in the frontal lobes of the brain until around 18 to 20 or later. • Myelination on a neuron allows it to operate more efficiently.
- 14. Adolescent Brain Development: Myelination • Myelination happens in the temporal and parietal lobes before it happens in the frontal lobes. What does that mean? • Teens are moving from concrete to abstract thinking. • Teens tend to become very idealistic & cause-oriented.
- 15. Resulting Behavioral Changes Early Adolescence (ages 11-14) Middle Adolescence (ages 15-18) Variation btwn those still focused on logic & Major broadening of thinking those able to combine logical & abstract abilities: can think abstractly and thinking. hypothetically; discern underlying principles of various phenomena & Some can't think ahead to consequences of apply them to new situations; can their actions. think about the future, considering many possibilities & logical Dvlp new thinking skills: possibilities, outcomes. thinking abstractly, thinking about the process of thinking & in multiple dimensions which Greater perspective-taking = more leads to questioning empathy & concern of others & new interest in societal issues. Practicing new thinking skills through humor & by arguing with parents and others. Humor See things as relative not absolute focused on satire, sarcasm, and sex
- 16. Prefrontal Lobes The last area of the brain to develop is the prefrontal lobes
- 17. Prefrontal Lobes • The prefrontal lobes are responsible for: • Reasoning ability. • Adults can provide “learning moments” to strengthen this skill in adolescence • Remember, it is a learned skill
- 18. Prefrontal Lobes The prefrontal lobes are responsible for: Goal and priority setting. Adolescents have a great deal of difficulty prioritizing.
- 19. Prefrontal Lobes • The prefrontal lobes are responsible for: • Planning and organization of multiple tasks. • Adolescents do not seem to be able to do this. • Adolescents are terrible at multitasking.
- 20. Prefrontal Lobes The prefrontal lobes are responsible for: • Impulse inhibition.
- 21. Resulting Behavioral Change Teens experience a greater desire & need for thrill-seeking than any other age group. Teens tend to exhibit the "it can't happen to me" syndrome also known as the "invincible fable.”
- 22. Prefrontal Lobes • Determining cause and effect relationships.
- 23. The Prefrontal Lobes • The prefrontal lobe is responsible for: • Determining right from wrong.
- 24. Resulting Behavioral Changes • Teens tend to exhibit a "justice" orientation and a strong belief in individual rights. •They are quick to point out inconsistencies between adults' words and their actions. •They begin to question rules and adult decisions •They have difficulty seeing shades of gray. They see little room for error.
- 25. The Prefrontal Lobes The prefrontal lobes are responsible for: • Ability to make sound judgments
- 27. The Prefrontal Lobes The prefrontal lobes are responsible for: • Emotional control, the third change in the adolescent brain.
- 28. Emotional Control • The amygdala is responsible for processing incoming sensory information • The role of the amygdala is to holds emotional memory. • It is the amygdala that is going to start off the fight or flight response if that sense that is coming in is dangerous. That is its main role. • Key: the amygdala develops before the frontal lobes develop.
- 29. Resulting Behavioral Change • Adolescents are not good at reading emotions. • Adolescents tend to label neutral or ambiguous facial expressions and tones as negative.
- 30. Emotional Control • If you are working out of your amygdala instead of your cortex, what are your actions going to look like if the amygdala is taking precedence?
- 31. Emotional Control • There are real differences in an adolescent brain and an adult brain when they are in an emotional situation.
- 32. Emotional Control •What adults have the ability to do is to reflect •This does not happen in the adolescent brain.
- 33. Resulting Behavioral Changes • Teens demonstrate a heightened level of self- consciousness. • Teens tend to believe that everyone is as concerned with their thoughts and behaviors as they are. This leads teens to believe that they have an "imaginary audience" of people who are always watching them.
- 34. Resulting Behavioral Changes •Teens become more egocentric •Teens tend to believe in the “personal fable,” that no one else has ever experienced similar feelings and emotions.
- 35. Resulting Behavioral Changes •They may become overly dramatic in describing things that are upsetting to them. •Teens’ emotional experiences are more intense
- 36. Adolescent Brain Development: Practical Implications Focus on Well-Being – Lerner, 2000 • Competence – in basic skills • Confidence – or positive identity • Connections – or healthy relations • Character – positive values & integrity • Caring and Compassion
- 37. Practical Implications: The Importance of Sleep • Sleep is one of the best things you can do for your brain.
- 38. Practical Implications: The Importance of Sleep • Studies of sleep patterns in adolescents reveal two important findings: • Number one, adolescents need much more sleep than we thought they did. • Findings now indicate through sleep lab experiments, by letting adolescents sleep an optimal time and just finding out when they wake up, it is about nine and a half hours.
- 39. Practical Implications: The Importance of Sleep • Finding number two: • In the adolescent brain circadian rhythms are set much later; the sleep-wake cycle does not begin until 11:00pm or 12:00 midnight.
- 40. Practical Implications: Provide Learning Moments Adults need to take advantage of some of the characteristics of the adolescent brain: • They are argumentative but maybe this would be a really good time to engage them in debates in classrooms.
- 41. Practical Implications: Meet them at their developmental level • Despite their newly formed abstract thinking skills, teens are still very concrete. • We need more hands-on experiences, not less, at the middle schools. • Science experiments, discovery, emotional involvement; let them use emotion to enhance learning. • Adults need to simplify tasks and requests.
- 42. Practical Implications: Build Brain Capacity • Involve adolescents in physical activities that facilitate the development of the cerebellum which coordinates physical, mental and social activities. • Physical exercise increase learning capacity
- 43. Practical Implications: Capitalize on Building Skills • Increase exposure to a variety of different activities and experiences to capitalize on the plasticity of the brain during this stage of development.
- 44. Practical Implications: Minimize Risks •Encourage them to sleep well •Help them avoid the risks of substances during this critical period. •Help them reduce stress by increasing coping skills and support
- 45. Resources • R.A. Ozretich, S.R. Bowman • Pat Wolfe, Mind Matters, Inc., Napa, CA: The Adolescent Brain: A Work in Progress • Adolescent Growth and Development Author: Angela Huebner, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Family and Child Development, Virginia Tech • Sam Goldstein, Hardwired to Learn, Learning and the Brain Conference, 2008
- 46. Q&A Robin E. Donaldson, M.A., L.M.H.C. rdonaldson@nationalsafeplace.org