The Teen Brain: Behavior, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

No. 95; December 2011 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Many parents do not understand why their teenagers occasionally behave in an impulsive irrational or dangerous way. !t times it seems li"e they don#t thin" things through or $ully consider the conse%uences o$ their actions. !dolescents di$$er $rom adults in the way they behave solve problems and ma"e decisions. &here is a biological e'planation $or this di$$erence. (tudies have shown that brains continue to mature and develop throughout childhood and adolescence and well into early adulthood. (cientists have identi$ied a speci$ic region o$ the brain called the amygdala which is responsible $or instinctual reactions including $ear and aggressive behavior. &his region develops early. )owever the frontal cortex the area o$ the brain that controls reasoning and helps us thin" be$ore we act develops later. &his part o$ the brain is still changing and maturing well into adulthood. *ther speci$ic changes in the brain during adolescence include a rapid increase in the connections between the brain cells and pruning +re$inement, o$ brain pathways. Nerve cells develop myelin an insulating layer which helps cells communicate. !ll these changes are essential $or the development o$ coordinated thought action and behavior. Changing Brains Mean that Adolescents Act Differently rom Ad!lts -ictures o$ the brain in action show that adolescents# brains $unction di$$erently than adults when decision.ma"ing and problem solving. &heir actions are guided more by the amygdala and less by the $rontal corte'. /esearch has also demonstrated that e'posure to drugs and alcohol be$ore birth head trauma or other types o$ brain in0ury can inter$ere with normal brain development during adolescence. 1ased on the stage o$ their brain development adolescents are more li"ely to2 act on impulse misread or misinterpret social cues and emotions get into accidents o$ all "inds get involved in $ights engage in dangerous or ris"y behavior

!dolescents are less li"ely to2 thin" be$ore they act pause to consider the potential conse%uences o$ their actions modi$y their dangerous or inappropriate behaviors &hese brain di$$erences don#t mean that young people can#t ma"e good decisions or tell the di$$erence between right and wrong. 3t also doesn#t mean that they shouldn#t be held responsible $or their actions. 1ut an awareness o$ these di$$erences can help parents teachers advocates and policy ma"ers understand anticipate and manage the behavior o$ adolescents.