The Teenage Brain

Abstract

Adolescence refers to the transition from childhood to adulthood that begins with the onset of puberty and ends with successful independence from the parent. A paradox for human adolescence is why, during a time when the individual is probably faster, stronger, of higher reasoning capacity and more resistant to disease, there is such an increase in mortality relative to childhood. These untimely deaths are not due to disease, but rather to preventable forms of death (accidental fatalities, suicide and homicide) associated with adolescents putting themselves in harm’s way due, in part, to diminished self control – the ability to suppress inappropriate emotions, desires and actions. This paper highlights how self control varies as a function of age, context and the individual and delineates its neurobiological basis.

Harnessing adolescent values to motivate healthier eating

“…Traditional self-regulation approaches focus on cognitive strategies to either counter the emotional power of the immediate reward (7) or to bridge the cognitive divide between the present and the distant benefit (e.g., intermediate goal-setting) (22). Neuroscientific research with adolescents has provided a reason for pessimism about such approaches in this age group (4,10).…”

“…† Consistent with this assumption, programs have tended to focus on giving participants an appreciation for the health implications of their food choices and/or on teaching them the cognitive skills necessary to pursue the presumed goal of future health (3). However, this motivational assumption is questionable even for adults (7), and findings from developmental science suggest it is even less appropriate for adolescents (4,(8)(9)(10).…”

Development of Risk-Taking, Perspective-Taking, and Inhibitory Control During Adolescence

“…However, adolescence is also associated with sub-optimal decisions and actions apparent in heightened substance abuse and mortality rates (Casey, Getz, & Galvan, 2008;Dahl, 2004;Steinberg, 2008; although see Willoughby, Good, Adachi, Hamza, & Tavernier, 2013). This paradox appears driven by the fact that social, reward and affective "hot" contexts influence adolescents' cognition and behaviour to a greater extent than is observed in adults (Albert, Chein, & Steinberg, 2013;Casey & Caudle, 2013). On the basis of such observations, it has been proposed that adolescents' risk-taking and susceptibility to peer influence may partly derive from differences in the maturational timecourse of the socio-emotional reward system and the cognitive control system in the brain (Albert et al, 2013;Casey et al, 2008).…”

Use of Internet and Electronic Games by Adolescents at High Social Risk

“…University students are older and have higher educational levels; therefore, they possess greater maturity and can better deal with negative emotions. Teenagers have diminished self control as function of their age (Casey & Caudle, 2013), which favors emotional responses. Moreover, one may wonder whether the higher level of violent answers in this sample is related to the environment of social vulnerability in which these adolescents live.…”