[billyboy]

Summary of New Research on Adolescent Brain Development

Recent developments in brain research provide scientific support to the theories on the limitations of youth's decision-making.

Researchers at UCLA, Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Mental Health have traced the development of a child's brain to adulthood.


Through neuroimaging technology researchers have discovered that in a process called "myelination" a normal healthy adolescent brain develops during adolescence.


The brain's maturation process continues through adolescence and is not complete until the early 20's.


The area not yet fully refined and focused in the adolescent mind is called the prefrontal cortex.


The prefrontal cortex is the largest section of the brain, slowest to develop, and undergoes the most drastic changes during adolescence.


The prefrontal cortex is responsible for complex thinking. It allows the mind to organize, perform abstract thinking, prioritize, anticipate consequences, control impulses and conform behavior accordingly.


To compensate for the underdevelopment of the prefrontal cortex, the adolescent brain relies heavily on another area of the brain called the amygdala, which creates a tendency to react on instincts.


Biologically, adolescents do not have the same abilities as adults to control their actions and make sound decisions...... This confirms my suspicions from raising 3 of them. They rarely think about consequences, even when they have suffered the consequences(non terminal) previously.It's wierd how" mature" that they think they are.