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Adolescent brain development quiz
Summary explaining the teen brain
Summary explaining the teen brain
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The teenage brain is very divergent, when compared to the adults. The prefrontal cortex is still growing, gray matter begins to decrease, and myelin is increasing. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for thinking and judgement; containing 100 billion neurons, sending information from cell body to axon to the axon terminal by electrical pulses. Furthermore, gray matter is located in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. Gray matter is simply in control of just about everything. It has a lot to do with the nervous system. In addition, the matter directs sensory of the central nervous system to produce a response of chemical synapses. Gray matter along with white matter, similar to gray matter, but contains extended axons, makes up 3 pounds of
In “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet”, William Shakespeare explains the idea that parental support is needed for teenagers. In the play two teenagers secretly get married and then commit suicide. Parents should let their kids do what they want but they can’t let them run loose..The amount of parental guidance in a teens life affects them greatly.
14, 2002). Riley is currently experiencing physical changes in her body such as developing breast, getting her period, and hormonal fluctuations. Along with these other changes, her prefrontal cortex is still developing. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision-making, planning, and impulse control (Micucci, 2012). “The physical changes associated with puberty, in themselves, have little negative impact on the adolescent’s self-image, except in one instance: when adolescents are going through puberty around the same time they are experiencing other changes in life, such as changing schools”(Micucci, p. 18,
As every child grows up in a different environment, not all have a safe one to grow up in and as a result everything that surrounds them becomes apart of the clarity that their mind incorporates and becomes apart of that child 's behavior of way. In terms of brain development children or teens often listen, and see what is around them, it is also said, by researchers of the National Institute of Health, that in recent studies that were made that in teen years massive loss of brain tissue...
Paul Thompson says in his article “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”, “massive loss of brain tissue occurs in the teenage years...brain cells and connections are being lost in the areas controlling impulses, risk taking, and self control..” (Thompson). This fact is used widely by those who disagree with the claim that juveniles should go to prison. However, this is ignoring many other points. For example, by sixteen a teenager can drive and by seventeen a teenager can get a job.
Paul Thompson in the article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”, claims that the youth thinks differently, especially when it comes to them facing criminal charges. Thompson supports his claims by first citing an example of a real case involving a minor. He then cites research from reliable sources as evidence to back up his claim. Lastly, the author investigates the law system’s way of handling the case mentioned previously in the article as a way to leave options open for the viewer. Thompson’s purpose is to convince the audience that though the research given shows that youth suffer brain tissue loss in their teen years, it gives them no excuse for violent behavior so that he can possibly give a well informed side of the argument. The
Even though adolescents are thought to be more mature as they enter the teenage years, but according to starling finds on teenage brains by Paul Thompson (The Sacramento Bee) states that " in recent years teen-brain research is the finding that a massive loss of brain tissue occurs in teen years"(4); which means that the adolescent does not have he brain capacity to know the difference between right and wrong. This article as well states that " Gray matter, which brain researchers believe support all our thinking and emotion is purged at rate one percent to percent a year"(7). This theory supports of finding mentioned in the teenage brain produced by frontline
Further research indicates that a person's intellectual capacity is at its greatest during these years. So much so that it could be compared to that of a full grown adult. The brain acts as a sponge soaking up all the information around it, learning as much as it can. “Adolescents and adults seem to engage different parts of their brain to different extents…” Thought the intellectual ability of a teen can match that of an adult does not mean that they think and interpret things the same. While performing tasks such as solving different problems and test, studies show that, when compared side by side, teens use different parts of the brain to different extents then the adult. This is due to the fact that the brain is still “Under Construction”. Therefore teen must use different parts of the brain for the same task as not all aspects of the brain are ready to handle some tasks, causing different results in different emotional and behavioral responses. This indicates the teen brain is still maturing
As the course progresses, it is evident how crucial adolescences years are. Both the brain and physical development in teens, explains why they’re more likely to engage in risky behavior and react more impulsive (Snowman & McCown, 2015). A character that demonstrates how adolescent brain and physical development affects the adolescence behavior, emotional and social skills (Blakemore, 2011), is sixteen year old Juno MacGuff from the movie Juno. Juno is an independent comedy film, directed by Jason Reitman and was released in 2007. The main character, Juno, experienced various obstacles that showed her as a mature and strategic teenager compared to other teens, particularly when it came to the decisions that she made and dealing with an unplanned
Adolescence is a time when many teenagers are struggling to determine where they fit in the world. No longer a child, but not yet an adult, issues surrounding the decisions and rights of adolescents prove to be a difficult subject to tackle. Adolescents are gradually awarded various privileges such as the right to drive, smoke, and drink, meaning there is no clear defining moment when an adolescent is fully considered an adult. Because of this, research on adolescent brain development should be heavily considered when resolving issues surrounding the well being of adolescents.
It has been found that juvenile brains are not yet fully developed. The parts of the brain specifically still changing during the teen years include the brain circuitry involved in emotional responses and impulsive responses. Teen emotional reactions are intense and urgent (National Institute
The basic dimensions of the human brain are quite simple to relate to common objects an individual would come across in your(do not use your in a research paper) local grocery store. The brain looks similar to a head of cauliflower and is approximately the size of a large grapefruit. Water composes almost eighty percent of the brain. Fat and protein merge to finish out the brain’s composition. The average adult human brain weighs about three pounds. Scientist separate the brain into lobes. The occipital, temporal, frontal and parietal lobes are responsible for different functions (Jensen, 2005). All of these sections contribute in some degree to the ability for humans to learn. Genetics do play a part in the ability for humans to learn, but the complexity of the brain also reinforces the idea that everyone can change and be “taught” to learn.
Adolescents are still developing. They are at the stage where they are too old to act like children, but not old enough to be treated like adults. This can cause a disturbance with their self-perception which can affect their emotions, often making them confused of who they are and causing feelings of self-consciousness and isolation. During this stage adolescents are at high risk for risky behaviors, due to changes in the neurochemicals of the brain. “Changes in dopamine activity affect the limbic system, which is involved with emotions, and its connection with the prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive functioning skills such as reasoning, problem solving, and decision making. Increased emotional
The human brain weighs approximately three pounds and contains approximately 100 billion neurons (Farmer, 2009, p. 21). The brainstem is the oldest part of the brain and it controls important functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, and our fundamental emotions such as happiness or sadness. It also sends and receives information from the spinal cord. Above the brainstem is the thalamus, which connects to the higher cortical regions of the brain. It manages sensations such as touch. The hippocampus surrounds the thalamus and it manages spatial working memory, learning, and emotion. The cerebellum is located at the back of the brain is responsible for movement and cognitive and emotional functions. The outer region of the brain is the cerebral cortex and is divided i...
Powell, K. (2006). Neurodevelopment: How does the teenage brain work? Retrieved November 14, 2011. Nature 442, 865-867| doi:10.1038/442865a
As human beings we are living organisms that are a step above the rest. Our unique anatomy gives us the innate ability to grow, change, and adapt to our surroundings. Our stages of life can be divided into birth, childhood, adolescents, young adult, adult, and older adult. At each stage not only does our physical appearance change and hit milestones so does our anatomy. Our prefrontal cortex continues to develop until we are in our mid twenties for example. Thats why as teenagers and even young adults we are still developing motor, cognitive, and social behaviors. This explains why teenagers are the worse drivers, their judgement and foresight has not reached it’s full potential. Here is a chart that compares the human prefrontal cortex development to that of a rat. You can see well into the age of 32 the prefrontal cortex is still developing in humans.image