The Brain of a Teenager - Essay Example

Are adolescents' brains fully developed? Student’s Name Educational Institution Tutor’s Name Date March 19, 2010 Are adolescents' brains fully developed? Abstract Adolescence is usually a stressful period for the teenagers making a transition between youth and adulthood. Certain behaviors including social behaviours which are age-related, risk taking, planning and decision making that teenagers make leaves a lot to be desired. In this context, questions have been asked whether their brains are mature. This was the objective of this study which entailed compiling already available information of neurological studies employing MRI imaging and evidences from the teenagers’ behaviour. Neurological studies have revealed that some parts of the brain are not mature in adolescence, like the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for complex cognitive processes such as impulse control, decision making and planning. This is supported by behavioural studies which reveal that teenagers are limited in making sound decisions, planning and controlling their impulses. All these show that the adolescent brain is not fully developed and so they need the attention of adults and institutions that will help then develop the skills that will help them in their adulthood. Keywords: Adolescence, neurological studies, behavioural studies, brain maturity, teenagers Introduction Many researchers working in the field of adolescent neurological development have a preference to studies of teen pregnancy. This is a period when the teenagers experience puberty changes which include physiological factors that affect their behaviors and they often don’t remember to use pregnancy prevention interventions (Steinberg, 2005). Several studies done in the recent past has have shown that there are important neurological developmental changes that take place throughout their teenage that continues into their mid-twenties. While all these changes are taking place on the brains of the adolescents, it is important to understand that these teenager are not adults and that they are on their path to maturity and attainment of full brain development. Their brains are still “under construction.” Therefore, efforts to understand how far the adolescent’s brains are developed should be doubled to ensure that people better understand them and guide them as well as appreciate the neurobiology of the adolescents (Weinberger, Elvevag, & Giedd, 2005). Revolutionary studies have revealed that the connections between neurons affecting the mental abilities of the teenagers are not complete during adolescence. The main objective of the current study is to find out whether the brain of the adolescents is fully developed or not. Problem Statement Teenagers are, as one research scientist puts it, a “work in progress.” Recent research asserts that the brain of the adolescent has not been developed fully. The discussions surround the extent to which adolescents have conscious control over their actions since the brain optimally grows by making mistakes (Giedd, et al, 1999). This makes it hard to know what opportunities are there to help them develop the skills of planning, judgment and impulse control. To be able to solve this problem, it is important to know whether the brain of teenagers is usually fully developed at adolescence or not. Adolescent Brain Development It is evident that almost all adolescents are able to make out the difference between what is right and wrong but they have reduced abilities to understand information, process information, to abstract from mistakes, to communicate, learn from experience, to make logical reasoning and to understand other’s reactions. The psychological verifications suggest that the adolescents are immature in their judgments which are not under voluntary control. New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images done in recent studies reveal that patterns of brain development extend into and beyond the adolescence stage of life. Neurologists have been able to discover the reflective workings of the brain through MRI imaging and their results have implications on the maturity of the brain of adolescents (Spear, 2000). Other studies have revealed that there is an overproduction and discriminatory elimination of cells that occurs when a child is in the womb and these processes are succeeded by a winnowing of connections of cells many years after the birth of the child. However, in the past such changes were only evidenced by studies done entirely on dead brains and studies carried out on animals. MRI studies done recently track brain development by having the same individuals scanned at an interval of two years from childhood and adolescents portray a clear evidence of regression and expansion of the cerebral cortex of the brain in living people (Giedd et al., 1999). These MRI scan reveals images representing thickening images of the gray matter which is made up of the cell bodies and dendrites in the brain cortex. These MRI studies portray clearly that the brain is in a dynamic state during adolescence and by the end of this period, the brain has changed into a different state apart from the one it was in at he begging of the adolescent stage. There is no clarity of the type of cellular processes for the volume of the cortex to ebb and flow as seen on the MRI scan during at the adolescent stage of development. However, it is clear that there are changes in the development of the brain. The cortical appears as gray matter in healthy respondents and this is seen throughout childhood as the cells of the brain grow and form an exuberant connection of cells to other parts of the brain. It is important to note that understanding the growth and development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) helps in understanding the behavior of teenagers. This is because, the PFC is seen as the executive or the CEO of the brain and is responsible skills like organizing plans, setting priorities, forming strategies, developing ideas, allocation of attention and the controlling of impulses (Weinberger, Elvevag, & Giedd, 2005). MRI imaging clearly shows that the gray matter levels in the frontal lobes are no stable until the third decade of life. The thickening of the frontal lobe is known to start at around age twelve. This is usually followed by a surge in connectional growth of the brain cells in the early adolescent stage which usually occurs in preparation for the final push to maturation in the adult stage. This is then followed by cutting back of inefficient connections to achieve maximum efficacy of function. In this process of brain development, certain connections of brain cells are strengthened while others are eliminated. In reality, brain functions are shaped to reveal and allow an increase in maturity as far as thought and action are concerned (Steinberg, 2005). The refinement and reorganization of the cortex which follows the period of apparent growth and anatomical energizing seems to be the main biology of the behavioral adaptability and elasticity experienced at this stage in life. However, some of the brain parts, such as those responsible for assessing risks, making long-term plans and controlling impulses, are not fully refined and developed (Spear, 2000). These parts of the brain are said to be under construction until early twenties. All the forces guiding the build up or reduction of connection in brain cells are not yet understood they are both said to be influenced by environmental and genetic factors. The role played by viruses, bacteria, fungi, education, nutrition, school, peers, parenting, drugs and video game are still under debate. Presently, the scientific board of adjudicators is still looking at how much automation is involved in this process verses how much is vulnerable to intervention and manipulation. The best theory available that explains the pruning stage is the “if you can’t use it lose it” rule. That is, those cells and cell connections under use will survive and increase but those that are not used will die. All these concepts show that adolescents may be in a position to shape some characteristics of their neurological development. This is different from the time when they were in the womb or during their first of life who cannot control the use of their time. Teenagers can, to a varying extent exert some sort of control over how their time is spent and they therefore play a part in shaping their brains for the adult years (Spear, 2000). This view is in agreement with neuroanatomical evidence that suggests that learning and positive experience fabricate very complex, adaptive brain by raising their ability to form and sustain neuronal connections. This is a perspective that agrees with psychological and sociological views. Periods of restructuring and growth of the brain are also very sensitive periods when the environment can have its impacts as well (Steinberg, 2005). The view of sensitive, critical periods as well understood for some significant processes, such as the visual system. For instance, if a baby has cataracts, it is important that the condition be corrected within the first two years of life if the child will have a chance of developing a normal visual system. In the same way, songbirds usually hear the singing of their species when they are very young in order to acquire their own ability to sing and goslings will follow the first object they see after their lives begin. All this happens through the process of “imprinting.” Therefore, it is evident that various findings done on the neurological development of the brain shows that the adolescents brand is not fully developed but his does not mean that their brain is limited is some way. In fact the elasticity of the teenage brain in someway is well suited to meet the demands of their lives. Behavioral Evidence of Adolescent Brain Still Developing Putting up long-term plans, controlling impulses and decision making are crucial constituents of behavioural patterns. They provide skills that are needed to function in a way that is sometimes seen to be disastrous if they are absent. As seen in the earlier section, the neurological structures that give the brain most of its abilities are still developing during adolescence. Studies by Klenberg, Korkman, & Lahti-Nuuttila, (2001) and Christ, White, Mandernach, & Keys, (2001) reveal that the inhibition of irrelevant responses and control of impulses probably develop a part of more complicated functions like focused and sustained attention as well as more complicated cognitive processes like abstract reasoning and planning. These abilities continue to mature well into the adolescence stage. The lack of ability by teenagers to have sound cognitive processes allowing for sound planning is attributed to their lack of mature frontal lobes (Luciana, & Nelson, 1998). The prefrontal cortex is immature or inefficient during adolescence hence they have problems in planning for complex thing. Immature frontal lobes also contribute to poor decision making in teenagers with their sense of estimations of probabilities and frequencies being less accurate than those of adults. The functions underlying the complicated processes involved in decision making are immature in adolescence (Jacobs, & Klaczynski, 2002). Conclusion Research on neurological development has shown that the common sense of view of teenager is not the same as that of their adult counterparts. This is shown in their capacity to make sound judgment when in complex situations, their ability to control impulse and their capacity to make effective plans. Such shortcomings reflect the fact that the vital areas of the adolescent brain such as the prefrontal cortex are not fully developed and they grow to maturity in the third decade of life. Teenagers are always full of potential, usually energetic and caring, and abilities to make contributions to the community, and even able to make remarkable contributions in the intellectual development. However, neurologically they are not yet adults. It is recommended that more research be done to fully understand the different aspects brought out in the current study. In the meantime, it is far-sighted that adults should think more carefully about the findings of this research study. The findings of the current study suggest that teenagers need the attention of adults and institutions that should help them in planning, impulse control and when making weighty and important decisions that will assist them to learn appropriate adult behavior and develop specific skills. Reference List Christ, S.E., White, D.A., Mandernach, T., & Keys, B.A. (2001). Inhibitory control across the lifespan. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20(3), 653-669. Giedd, JN Blumenthal, J, Jeffries, NO, Castellanos, FX, Liu, H, Zijdenbos, A, Paus, T, Evans AC, & Rapoport, JL (1999). Brain development during childhood and adolescent: A longitudinal MRI: study. Nature Neuroscience, 2: 861–863 Gullo, M.J. & Dawe, S. (2008) Impulsivity and adolescent substance use: Rashly dismissed as "all bad"? Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews, 32, 1507-1518. Jacobs, J.E., & Klaczynski, P.A. (2002). The development of judgment and decision making during childhood and adolescence. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 145-149. Klenberg, L., Korkman, M., & Lahti-Nuuttila, P. (2001). Differential development of attention and executive functions in 3- to 12 year-old Finnish children. Developmental Neuropsychology, 20, 407-428. Luciana, M., & Nelson, C.A. (1998). The functional emergence of prefrontally- guided working memory systems in four- to eight-year-old children. Neuropsychologia, 36(3), 273-293. Spear, L.P. (2000). 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