Lecture 4

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Aggression

Stressors We regress

Our awake time with our parents drops to 10% and we spend a lot more time with
peers and friends
We are evolutionarily designed to mate
Peak time during adolescence

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If we dont have people who go out and take risks, we wont survive. The
adolescents are part of this and its because of them that evolutionarily, we can
keep going forward.

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Mood disorders, bipolar,

If you havent tried drugs by 26, small chance youll try it later on in life

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Dopamine is a learning chemical

Between ages 25/26, the amount of dopamine we experience is the highest in our
lifetime.

Pleasure seeking reward is higher when we are younger, etc. (example: sex, drugs)
Story of Romeo and Juliet would not occur for adults (wed like to believe)

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We had sex at first because it felt good, more than the idea that we will have kids.
Peer pressure when we feel pain, we pull away. We do the same with attachment.
If we are socially excluded during a game or life, same part of the brain is triggered
and we feel the need to connect.
During puberty, finding peers and connecting is the most important thing.
We are raised by parents but thrive in the world of peers

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Cold cognitive state we think clearly

Hot cognitive state peer pressure

Around 26 or 27, our cognitive development changes and we begin to make better
decisions

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UNDERSTAND THIS PICTURE AND EXPLAIN IT!

Striatum emotional part of the brain
Color shows how hot/active it is. Children, sort of. Adolescence VERY ACTIVE,
adults, kind of relaxed again
Pre Frontal Cortex is responsible for organization, planning, emotion
PFC is not that mature in children
Most mature in adolescents
Lessens in adults
With time, prefrontal cortex has more time to develop and we form a complete circle
By 14-15 y.o. we are developed completely but its not until later that we can control
them.

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MRI how the brain is structured

fMRI how blood and fluid is moving through the brain and body
PFC is more diffused during adolescence than adolescents and adults.

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VTA ventral tegmental area

We can begin asking people to question their actions later on in life.
Average age is 31-32 years old even though a 19 year old can throw faster, and
recover faster but we dont use 19 year olds because they cant make decisions as
well as older people.

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Lots of grey matter as a kid and kids learn so quickly

If we dont use language centers, we trade it out for something else we can pick up

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Real risk of pregnancy from unprotected sex is 3-5% during the rest of the year

Real risk of pregnancy from unprotected sex during 48 hours of ovulation is 20-25%
HIV risk:

- Easier for a woman to get HIV from a man than a man getting it from a woman
Risk of a woman getting HIV from a HIV positive man: 1/1250
Risk of a man getting HIV from a HIV positive woman: 1/2500
D.A.R.E. and scared straight programs and 0 tolerance policy are BAD! It doesnt
work for adolescents
If we know that we are vincible and we have fears, why do we engage in risk?

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Lecture 5

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