Teenage Brain Research Paper

Words: 579
Pages: 3
Open Document
The teenage brain is a fickle subject. As our brains develop, there are areas that we learn and lose, just through the aging process. As a 6 year old, the human brain is already about 95% of a human adult brain. In between those years, the teenage brain changes quite substantially. “The most surprising thing has been how much the teen brain is changing,” according to Dr. Jay Giedd. Incredibly, the teenage brain has evolved and changed in many different ways. Our brains contain gray matter. Gray matter is used for judgment and planning and such uses. In the human body, it reaches its peak around 11 or 12. This is why around this age, these teens don’t regularly have a regard for much safety. Their judgment center is ready to start developing, …show more content…
This finding supports the fact that during the day, kids are not ready to learn until about 10 in the morning. When she mapped the brains of teenagers, she recorded that they were not ready to learn at the early hours during the first few periods. “When we bring those kids into the laboratory, what we see is a phenomenon that’s a lot of concern for us. They start to look as if they have a major sleep disorder - narcolepsy.” Without those few extra hours of sleep, most kids are not able to go through the day fully focused and ready for the day. How does this all relate? This all relates to pruning, the activity of the brain that allows for it to function more effectively by understanding and learning which synapses are not being used regularly, so the brain somewhat “stops” using those synapses. This relates to the gray matter. This relates to how the teenage brain isn’t able to function without enough sleep. To add on, Deborah Todd addressed that kids aren’t able to correctly identify the feelings in an adults face. They may see shock or anger, but the true feeling is fear. “One of the interesting things about the findings are that they suggest that teenagers are not able to correctly read all the feelings in the adult face.” The part of the brain that reads feelings, the hypothalamus, isn’t fully developed enough to read those
Show More

Related Documents: Teenage Brain Research Paper

The Teenage Brain: Article Analysis

In the article, ”Teenage Brain are malleable and vulnerable”author John Hamilton talks about how the teenage brain is constantly changing and easily manipulated do to the fact that the brain is not fully developed. In paragraph 14 it states,”...a study by researchers in the U.S and U.K showed how much the brain changes during…

Words 753 - Pages 4

Humanites Paper 2

Melissa Martinez Professor Kubasta Paper #2 02/08/2015 The Causes of Technology/Paper #2 The first article “How a Demon iPad Stole My Summer Vacation” by Doyle McManus I found to be a mirrored image of what most average family vacations probably are like. I agree with most of the viewpoints McManus points out in his article. The biggest one being the disruption technology has caused in the family. Family time is nothing like it used to be, not only on vacations but also in the household. Like McManus…

Words 723 - Pages 3

Gaming: Video Game Sales Essays

Video Gaming & its Effects Adam Rogers West Forsyth High Abstract This paper is specifically about how video games do not have a negative effect or impact on society. Many believe and are mislead to believe that video games provoke violence and other negative effects on teens and adults. You can find in this paper that this statement is completely false. Video games do not provoke violence. In fact, it actually decreases it. Statistics show that as video game sales increase as well as their…

Words 725 - Pages 3

Abortion: The Right To Life

definition of a human being. Is it when the sperm and egg start to fertilize and become an embryo? Or maybe it is after the first trimester of pregnancy ends (first three months of a pregnancy) when many parts of the fetus’ organs such as the heart and brain are already developed and working? People who advocate pro-choice come from a variety of backgrounds such as students, teachers, lawyers, health-care workers and lawyers. They are also from different ethnic, socioeconomic backgrounds and religions…

Words 2076 - Pages 9

Essay about Rouse u09a1

Influences and Imperatives Anna Rouse Psyc3002 Persuasive Paper-first Draft Capella University August, 2014 Abstract Mental illness, especially chronic depression, is a complex issue with many facets and theories surrounding it. Some scientists believe that mental illness is caused by biology, including physiology, chemistry and genetics. Other scientists believe that biology plays a small to no part and focus instead on the environment. There are those scientists, however, who take a united view…

Words 1389 - Pages 6

Vs. Nurture In The Sociological Imagination By James R.

rationale and verification. The studies on twins concludes that intelligence is due to genetics, but they argue for nature playing a role as well. Warwick claims “intellectual performance can obviously be altered by training and stimulation” because the brain is a physical organ and physical ability can be improved through training (Warwick 203). Flynn continues on and explains that because of genetics, the twins are put into comparable situations as they grow (Flynn 168), thus, their intelligence are due…

Words 1442 - Pages 6

The Drinking Age Too High Or Just Right

Many studies have shown alcohol harms the teenage brain. Alcohol has been shown to increase memory loss, depression and in some cases even suicidal tendencies. “Alcohol is a depressant, so one of the chief effects of alcohol on the brain is to depress central nervous system functioning which may be why major depressive disorder occurs in high rates in those who abuse alcohol. While some alcohol addicts may be drinking to self-medicate a depression, research shows that long-term, excessive intake of…

Words 1343 - Pages 6

Ocd Research Paper

SSRIs block the reabsorption (reuptake) of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain. Changing the balance of serotonin seems to help brain cells send and receive chemical messages, which in turn boosts mood. (“Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)”) Among the SSRIs prescribed to those with OCD are Luvox, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Celexa. While these…

Words 1814 - Pages 8

Juvenile Death Penalty Essay

juveniles?”. A lot of people think that the death penalty for juveniles is cruel and unusual punishment and should only be used for adults. The crimes that juveniles commit are as dangerous and as violent as adult crimes. People argue that the adolescent brain does not mature until the late teens or early twenties, and that death penalty should not be the resolution. Some studies show that childhood abuse or neglect can causes the child to commit crimes when they grow to adulthood. Debate about the use of…

Words 1353 - Pages 6

Youth and Behaviorism Essay

as poverty, unhealthy living conditions and a negative home life. Some behavioral issues are a direct cause of mental health problems, but for this study, we will not look at the mental health issues that cause behavior issues. A growing body of research has examined the cause of youth violence, among peers and parental relationships. The world we are living in today is full of violent images; from video games to movies, even much of today’s music can promote a violent message. There are other external…

Words 2276 - Pages 10