Inside the Teenage Brain Introduction to Anthropology, Sociology & Psychology—HSP 3M

Inside the Teenage Brain Adolescence is characterized by extreme mood swings and participation in risk-taking behaviour. Many changes are occurring in the frontal cortex which account for these behaviours. The frontal cortex, which is responsible for reason and logic, is not fully developed in adolescents.

Inside the Teenage Brain Due to this, many adolescents misinterpret emotions causing conflict with parents, peers and teachers. Example: Misinterpreting one’s behaviour as anger. The adolescent brain does not interpret environmental information in the same manner as adult do.

Inside the Teenage Brain The cerebellum, responsible for organizing thoughts and cognition, changes the most during adolescence. The cerebellum is not fully developed until a person is 21 years old. This lack of development can account for adolescents not always hearing or understanding what their parents or teachers are trying to communicate and their lack of organization as well as lack of moral development.

Inside the Teenage Brain Getting adequate sleep is one of the best things adolescents can do to enhance learning and brain development. Adolescents need 9 ¼ hours sleep a night to function properly. Despite this, on average adolescents get only 7 ½ hours sleep per night. This continuous sleep deficit causes significant gaps in learning.

Inside the Teenage Brain Adolescent’s circadian clock keeps teens up late at night, however as school starts early they are forced to get up before they have received enough sleep. As a result most adolescents are not able function properly in school as they are still in a sleep like state. Studies show that when teens get adequate sleep they perform better on cognitive tasks. Teens that are sleep deficient show significant gaps in their ability to retain information and perform cognitive tasks.

Inside the Teenage Brain So why does school start so early? Later school start studies indicate that when school starts later (10 am- 4:30 pm), teens perform better academically and they are less frequently absent. However they are less likely to participate in extra curricular activities which are also beneficial to healthy development.

Inside the Teenage Brain The most important factor to adolescent development is the relationships, connections and support systems formed with family and peers.

Videos: Inside the Teenage Brain Discovery Channel – Inside the Teenage Brain http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/discovery-presents/videos/understanding-the-brain-teenagers.htm PBS – Inside the Teenage Brain http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/