Alcohol And The Teenage Brain

Are teens capable of making life altering decisions on their own? This is a question that not only concerns parents, but the general public as well. Based on scientific studies teens are known for having rebellious actions and behaviors. Most people think that they base their actions on their emotions and hormones, but they really have little control over these temptations because of how their brain is developing. This is one of the reasons teenagers have a bad reputation in today’s society. As a community people should not judge a book by it's cover, but instead take a look at what’s really going on inside the brain.

Research has been done on the teenage brain that brings up interesting points. Teens respond differently to emotions than

adults do because separate parts of the brain are being used to recognize certain emotions. Scientists at McLean Hospital in Belmont have shown teens a picture of a woman who shows the emotion of fear, yet teens identified it as shock, surprise, or anger. Adults read the expression correctly using their frontal cortex, which controls reasoning and planning. Teens however mostly used their amygdala, which controls their gut reactions. It turns out that the frontal cortex takes longer to develop and operate in teens, but becomes fully functional as an adult. So therefore the teenage brain is immature and works differently than an adult's brain.
After watching Teen Brain Under Construction more facts about how the brain of an adolescent functions has been said. One of the main points in the video was that many life changing functions in teens are not yet developed leading to things like drug use, unprotected sex, and speeding. Another fact that was stated was that doberminors lead teenagers to fall under peer pressure and become highly active when puberty starts. A positive thing about teens in this video was that the capacity to learn is at its highest when the person is an adolescent. Also, after looking at an infographic it was stated that excess grey matter is pruned in adolescents. The senses are developed first and regions that require higher thinking do not mature until later in life. So after all these facts people wonder if teens are actually capable of making decisions.
Although this is an unpopular opinion, teens could be capable of making decisions on their own. Since a teenager can learn as much as they can during this period of time they are able to use this as an advantage to make better decisions. Based on an online source researchers show how a teen’s experience can lead to powerful advantages later in life. If a teen has access to enough time and information they can start to have the same level of decision-making skills as an adult.In addition, additional areas of the brain start to help process emotion which makes a teen gain equilibrium and have an easier time interpreting others. Another thing is that most parents complain about their child interacting with their friends, but in reality studies have shown the positive side to it. When an adolescent is accompanied by their friends, they have a higher opportunity to work on certain skills such as socializing, negotiation, and group planning.
Adults often look down on teenagers because of the poor actions they choose to make in life.

One of these horrible actions that happens commonly are car accidents, in fact 6 out of 10 accidents teens get into are because of distraction. Teenagers are also known for the excess accumulation of alcohol. According to an article, “Alcohol and the Teen Brain,” adults drink more than adolescents, but teens drink in larger quantities and this might explain why there is more risk of teen binge drinking. Drinking as a teenager can be dangerous and lead up to an addiction. Although the fact is that teens have the largest rank of capacity to learn in adolescents can be the reason why they make horrible decisions.Since there are so many bad influences around them like TV shows and song lyrics that promote things like sex and drug use they are learning the wrong subjects in

life.
These are some of the many reasons teens get a bad rap. Now people might be wondering, why do teens make these decisions? Well, to start an adolescent's brain is fairly immature compared to an adult’s brain and certain places of a teenager’s brain has not developed just yet. As said earlier, the frontal cortex, a section of the brain responsible for reasoning and higher thinking, is still in the process of maturing. This is making teens have more of a gut or emotional reaction to situations while they should use higher thinking to react to situations that matter. So, why should we let teenagers have control of society if a major thing like the brain is not even developed yet?
Overall teenagers can make life decisions on their own but they should always keep in mind that the decisions the make can result in something negative.

Research has been done and there are many positive aspects of the teenage brain. Adolescents start to have computational and decision making skills that they will need to survive. When they have these skills that they have learned throughout their lifetime, it gives them the time and access to learn more information. the teenager’s brain starts to develop more as they are growing up certain areas start to help process emotions. This is a very good thing for the teens because they start to understand their emotions well and they have an understanding why at times they feel a certain way. As an adolescent gets older they will have to start making decisions that can affect their lives tremendously. As a teen they should always put into perspective the consequences and results of the decisions they are about to make. Adolescents should have a complete understanding about what they are about to do like buying a new car, buying a house or an apartment, or even looking for a job. Just always have in mind, “ What would an adult

do?”