The brain is not fully grown at birth, not just in terms of its size, but in terms of the

Section I
complexity of the networks of nerve cells that determine how it functions (Nowakowski,
1987).
Evidence suggests that from birth to young adulthood the brain doubles its size due to
the elaboration of underlying connections among cells.
Studies of the brains of humans and of nonhuman primates have revealed dramatic
Changes in the evidence that the number of synapses changes during the first two decades of life
cellular (Huttenlocher, 1979).
It has often been stated that this period is a time of extraordinary brain changeability,
architecture of the or “plasticity.” Basically, new skills are learned at a great pace. Damage or injury to the

ADA - 16
Team members:
Héctor Cámara / Odel Herrera
Sofía Pichardo / Gabriela Quijano
Reference:
Weinberger, D., Elvevag, B., & Giedd,
J. (2005). The adolescent brain: a
work in progress
child's brain can often be compensated for since so many extra synapses are
brain in available to help out and take over the damaged cells (Kennard, 1936).
adolescence Concepts such as rules, laws, and codes of social conduct seem to become much
more likely evident when approaching adulthood.
The role of dopamine neurons during adolescence may be important regarding the
skill of learning in response to a reward.
Findings of MRI studies:
Teens' brains change during this time of life.
Tracking brain development by scanning show clear evidence of expansion and
regression of the cerebral cortex in living people.
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Section I
During adolescence, the brain is in a dynamic state and it exits this period in a
different state from which it enters.
The level of grey matter in the frontal lobes does not stabilize until well into the third
decade of life.
Brain functions are sculpted to reveal and allow increasing maturity in thought and
Changes in the action.
adolescent brain Brain’s circuitry (risk assessment, making long-range plans, and controlling impulses)
are not yet fully developed and refined.
revealed through
Building up and pruning down connections between cells are likely influenced by
new neuroimaging genetic and environmental factors.
Teens may be able to shape some aspects of their own neurological development.
techniques Learning and positive experience build complex, adaptive brains by increasing the
potential for forming and sustaining neuronal connections.
Teen years are seen as a potentially critical time for developing dynamic brain
changes and sensitivity.
Teens try to identify the emotions expressed by the faces and activate their amygdala.
Controlling impulsive behavior: adults
Adults whose frontal lobes are damaged often lack “inhibitory control”.
People with frontal cortex damage tend to get distracted.
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Section I
Prefrontal cortex (PFC) is crucial for inhibitory and impulse control in adults.
Controlling impulsive behavior: children and adolescents.
Abilities that continue to develop well into adolescence: a) Sustain and focus
attention, and b) Complex cognitive processes: planning and abstract reasoning.
Cognitive processes that underlie the ability to inhibit inappropriate behavior are not
Behavioral fully mature in early adolescence.
evidence of a Inefficient “thinking machinery” may make young adolescents more susceptible to
being distracted.
brain still Planning behavior: adults. Damage to the frontal lobes means that they have problems
ordering sequences correctly and it affects the perception of a task, their results are
developing rather odd.
Planning behavior: adolescents. The immaturity of the frontal lobes makes teens
vulnerable to problems in the cognitive processes, planning abilities improve with age.