Adolescence and the Changing Brain

Monica Woropaj

Marymount University

Adolescence and the Changing Brain

Introduction

The transition period of about a decade from childhood into adulthood is termed adolescence. Remarkable changes take place in the human mind in this stage of life. These changes relate to the brain's biochemistry, anatomy and physiology. The long held belief that the only growth in the brain and the changes happen during the childhood has been proved by research in the field of Neuroscience. A major progress in this research field may be attributed to the development in the field of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Ramowski, 2008).

Changes in the brain

The most important changes that take place in the brain of an adolescent pertain to the wiring diagram of the brain and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) which does all the planning functions of the brain. The functioning of the frontal outer mantle or the prefrontal cortex becomes very efficient and complex at the same time. The PFC is the last part of the body which is situated at the front lobes. Its full development gets delayed up till adolescence. The human brain is like a computer and the neural connections inside the brain may be termed as circuits (Thompson & Vidal, 2007).

These, like the random access memory (RAM) of a computer help the brain in performing several tasks at the same time. These tasks are not only performed simultaneously but they are also performed with efficiency. The PFC receives signals from the brain dopamine. A dopamine is a chemical that aids the brain in filtering information and paying attention to selective content (Sowell, Peterson & Thompson, 2003). These signals increase during the adolescence and the brain changes significantly throughout the adolescent stage. From the time the brain enters the adolescent stage till the time it leaves it, it undergoes many important changes.

The functioning of the brain is involves the transmission of synapses expressed by neurons. Theses synapses are progressive and regressive. The progressive synapses are those that are not received by another antenna. The synapsis that fails to transfer information they contain to another antenna, they regress. This also has implication for the healthcare professional in that any injury that a person may suffer as a child has a greater potential to fail to damage the mind than the ability of the injury to damage the brain during adolescence. During adolescence, the brain is already too exhausted by the extra synapses (White, 2005).

There are certain reasons why the brain of an adolescent changes. These are discussed hereunder.

Reasons for the changes in brain

Prefrontal cortex is responsible for performing functions such as decision making, impulse control and planning. Unlike the common belief, the prefrontal cortex has not yet developed by the age of adolescence. The teens behave in a different manner than adults. While adults focus more on rationale and intelligence teens rely heavily on gut. The circuitry of the brain is undergoing many changes. This, coupled with the changes in the hormonal and biological functions of ...