Gimnazija Mostar

Making GOOD DECISIONS

- THE TEENAGE BRAIN

Lejla Torlo Aida Memić,

prof.

October 21, 2021

Why do teenagers think and act differently?

Teenagers are often accused of making poor decisions and excessive risk-taking -
hence the high number of car accidents among teen drivers. But discoveries in brain
science show that there is a reason for this behaviour.

For many years, scientists thought that the human brain was fully mature before the
teen years. They thought that a person’s brain growth was complete and the structure
was more or less fixed by the age od 3. However, more recent research shows that
although the brain reaches its maximum size between the ages of 12 and 14, brain
development is not yet complete. In fact, certain regions od the brain continue to
develop into the early 20s.

A key region of the brain that matures late is the prefrontal cortex, located just behind
the forehead. This cortex acts as a control centre for thinking ahead and calculating
risks. This is the area of the brain that might stop you from making a bad decision. It
communicates with the other sections of the brain through connections called
synapses. Scientists have found that there is a growth in synapses during adolescence.
The brain automatically removes the synapses that it doesn’t need in order to make the
remaining ones more efficient, but because this process starts at the back od the brain
and moves forward, the prefrontal cortex is reached last. Aa a result, teenagers rely
more on the back of the brain when making decisions, whereas adults do more
processing in the prefrontal cortex and so are better able to calculate risks.

Meanwhile, two other parts of the brain develop earlier, the nucleus accumbens and
the limbic system. The nucleus accubens is the region of the brain associated with
pleasure and reward while the limbic system plays a central role in emotional
responses. The early development of these two areas explains why emotions have a
much stronger influence in the decision-making process among teenagers.

Together, these factors make it easier to understand why teenagers sometimes make
more impulsive choices than adults. They also suggest that important life decisions
should be made later in life, or with the hele of adult advice.

The good news is that teenagers do have the potential, through choice and behaviour,
to shape their brain development. Scientists believe that during the time the brain is
removing synapses, the cells and connections that are used survive, while the ones
that are not used die away. So if a teenager is doing music, sports or academic studies,
those are the cells and connections that will become part of the brain's operating
system. But unfortunately, if he or she is lying on the sofa, watching TV and playing
computer games, those are the brain cells that will remain into adulthood, meaning that
what you do with your teenage years could have an effect on the rest of your life. Just
as important is that learning how the brain develops can help teenagers be better
equipped to make more intelligent choices, motivating them to take a moment before
acting to consider the consequences of their actions.

Zašto tinejdžeri razmišljaju i ponašaju se drugačije?

Tinejdžeri se često optužuju za donošenje loših odluka i pretjerano preuzimanje rizika

– otuda veliki broj saobraćajnih nesreća među tinejdžerima vozačima. Ali otkrića u
znanosti o mozgu pokazuju da postoji razlog za ovakvo ponašanje.

Dugi niz godina naučnici su smatrali da je ljudski mozak potpuno zreo prije
tinejdžerskih godina. Smatrali su da je rast mozga kod osobe završen i da je struktura
manje-više fiksirana do treće godine. Međutim, novija istraživanja pokazuju da iako
mozak dostiže svoju maksimalnu veličinu između 12. i 14. godine, razvoj mozga još
nije dovršen. Ustvari, određene regije mozga nastavljaju da se razvijaju do ranih 20-ih
godina.

Ključno područje mozga koje kasno sazrijeva je prefrontalni korteks, smješten odmah
iza čela. Ovaj korteks djeluje kao kontrolni centar za razmišljanje unaprijed i
procjenjivanje rizika. Ovo je područje mozga koje vas može spriječiti da donesete lošu
odluku. Komunicira s drugim dijelovima mozga putem veza zvanih sinapse. Naučnici
su otkrili da postoji rast sinapsi tokom adolescencije. Mozak automatski uklanja
sinapse koje mu nisu potrebne da bi preostale bile efikasnije, ali budući da ovaj proces
počinje u stražnjem dijelu mozga i kreće se naprijed, prefrontalni korteks dolazi
posljednji. Kao rezultat toga, tinejdžeri se više oslanjaju na stražnji dio mozga
prilikom donošenja odluka, dok odrasli obavljaju više procesa u prefrontalnom
korteksu i tako su sposobniji da procjene rizike.

U međuvremenu, dva druga dijela mozga se razvijaju ranije, bazna ganglija i limbički
sistem. Bazna ganglija je regija mozga povezana sa zadovoljstvom i nagradom, dok
limbički sistem igra centralnu ulogu u emocionalnim reakcijama. Rani razvoj ova dva
područja objašnjava zašto emocije imaju mnogo jači uticaj u procesu donošenja odluka
među tinejdžerima.

Zajedno, ovi faktori olakšavaju razumijevanje zašto tinejdžeri ponekad donose

impulsivnije odluke od odraslih. Također sugeriraju da važne životne odluke treba
donositi kasnije u životu, ili uz pomoć savjeta odraslih.

Dobra vijest je da tinejdžeri zaista imaju potencijal da izborom i ponašanjem oblikuju

razvoj svog mozga. Naučnici vjeruju da dok mozak uklanja sinapse, ćelije i veze koje
se koriste opstaju, dok one koje se ne koriste odumiru. Dakle, ako se tinejdžer bavi
muzikom, sportom ili akademskim naukama, to su ćelije i veze koje će postati dio
moždanog operativnog sistema. Ali, nažalost, ako on ili ona leži na sofi, gleda TV i
igra kompjuterske igrice, to su moždane ćelije koje će ostati u odrasloj dobi, što znači
da ono što radite sa svojim tinejdžerskim godinama može uticati na ostatak vašeg
života. . Jednako je važno da učenje o tome kako se mozak razvija može pomoći
tinejdžerima da budu bolje opremljeni za donošenje inteligentnijih izbora, motivirajući
ih da odvoje trenutak prije nego što počnu djelovati i razmotre posljedice svojih
postupaka.

Unknown words:

Accuse- optužiti
Poor decisions- loše odluke
Excessive- pretjerano
Mature- zrelo
Prefrontal cortex- prefrontalni korteks (moždana kora koja pokriva prednji dio
frontalnog režnja)
Synapse- sinapsa
Nucleus accumbens- bazna ganglija
Limbic system- limbički sistem
Adulthood- zrelo doba
Equipped- snabdjeven

Questions:

1. What did scientist think for many years?

2. What does more recent research show?
3. Which part of the brain matures late?
4. How do prefrontal cortex act?
5. What are the two parts of the brain which develop earlier?
6. What is the nucleus accubens?
7. What does the limbic system do?
8. What do scientist sugges about making important life decisions?
9. How can teenager shape their brain development?
10. So, how teenager can be better equipped to make more intelligent choices?