Five things about mysterious teen brain

1. New thinking skills

2. Intense emotions
3. Peer pressure
4. Measuring risk
5. I am the center of the universe

Characteristics of adolescent brain

1. Complexities
2. Adaptable
3. Resilient
4. Needs more rest
5. The changes in the adolescent brain mean that they act differently
from adults.

Based on the stage of their brain development, adolescents are

more likely to:

● act on impulse;
● get involved in fights;
● get into accidents of all kinds;
● engage in dangerous or risky behavior;
● Misread and misinterpret social cues and emotions.

Adolescents are less likely to:

● Think before they act;

● Change their dangerous or inappropriate behaviours; or
● Pause to consider the consequences of their actions.
History of the fight or flight response

The fight or flight response was originally described by American physiologist

Walter Bradford Cannon in the book Bodily changes in pain, hunger, fear and
rage (1915). He noted that when animals were threatened, by exposure to a
predator for example, their bodies released the hormone adrenaline /
epinephrine which would lead to a series of bodily changes including
increased heart rate and respiration. The consequences of these changes are
increases in the flow of oxygen and energy to the muscles. Canon’s
interpretation of this data was that there were emergency functions of these
changes. He noted that they happened automatically and they served the
function of helping the animal to survive threatening situations by readying the
body for fighting or running.

A more modern understanding of the fight or flight response is reflected in the

work of Schauer & Elbert (2010). Their more elaborated model of
physiological / psychological / behavioral responses to threat is termed the
‘defense cascade’. They describe a series of stages which individuals
exposed to threat or trauma may go through, including: freeze, flight, fight,
fright, flag, and faint.

Why the fight or flight response is important

The physiological responses associated with fight or flight can play a critical
role in surviving truly threatening situations. However, many patients suffering
from anxiety disorders or other conditions may have threat systems which
have become over-active, or which are insufficiently counterbalanced by
activity in the parasympathetic nervous system.
Practically, many patients who suffer from anxiety will benefit from a deeper
understanding of the fight or flight response. For example, patients with panic
attacks or panic disorder often misinterpret the bodily signs associated with
fight or flight as signs of impending catastrophe and understanding the fight or
flight response is therefore a helpful ‘decatastrophizing’ technique. Similarly,
patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may mistake the
increased physiological arousal as an indicator that there is a genuine threat
present: understanding more about the fight or flight response can help them
to feel safer, and to implement relaxation and grounding strategies.

Physiological responses

The fight or flight reaction is associated with activation of the sympathetic

nervous system. The chain reaction brought about by the fight or flight
response can result in the following physical effects:

Body System Physiological effect Consequence

Increase in blood flow
Increased heart rate
Increased availability of
Heart Dilation of coronary oxygen and energy to
blood vessels
the heart
Increased availability of
Dilation of blood vessels
oxygen to skeletal
serving muscles
muscles
Circulation Constriction of blood
Blood shunted to
vessels serving
skeletal muscles and
digestion
brain
Dilation of bronchi
Increased availability of
Lungs Increased respiration
oxygen in blood
rate
Increased availability of
Increased conversion of
Liver glucose in skeletal
glycogen to glucose
muscle and brain cells
Skin becomes pale or Increased blood flow to
Skin
flushed as blood flow is muscles and away from
 non-essential parts of
reduced the body such as the
periphery
Allows in more light so
that visual acuity is
Eyes Dilation of the pupils improved to scan nearby
surroundings

“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to

help others.

Unsuccessful people are always asking: "What's in it for

me?" -Brian Tracy

THE PASSAGE TO ADULTHOOD: CHALLENGES OF

LATE

ADOLESCENCE

Physical Development

Most girls have completed the physical changes related to

puberty by age 15.

Boys are still maturing and gaining strength, muscle mass,

and height and are completing the development of sexual
traits.

Emotional Development
May stress over school and test scores.

Is self-involved (may have high expectations and low self-

concept).

Seeks privacy and time alone.

Is concerned about physical and sexual attractiveness.

Social Development

shifts in relationship with parents of dependency and

subordination to one

that reflects the adolescent’s increasing maturity and

responsibilities in the

family and the community,

Is more and more aware of social behaviors of friends.

Seeks friends that share the same beliefs, values, and

interests.

Friends become more important.

Starts to have more intellectual interests.

Explores romantic and sexual behaviors with others.

May be influenced by peers to try risky behaviors (alcohol,

tobacco, sex).
Mental Development

Becomes better able to set goals and think in terms of the

future.

Has a better understanding of complex problems and issues.

Starts to develop moral ideals and to select role models.

May complain that parents prevent him or her from doing

things independently.

Starts to want both physical and emotional intimacy in

relationships.

The experience of intimate partnerships

PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

Adolescence begins with the first event of human maturation referred to as

puberty. During this stage, the adolescent experiences dramatic changes in
the shape and appearance of their bodies, an increase in gonadal
hormones, and changes in brain architecture. These biological changes,
which affect emotions, occur due to the release of sex hormones. Frequent
mood changes may impact the adolescent's relationship both at home and
at school with parents and siblings as well as friends and acquaintances.

A major biological change during this period between puberty and young
adulthood is in the frontal lobes of the brain, responsible for such functions
as self-control, judgment, emotional regulation, organization, and
planning.

COGNITIVE CHALLENGES
In this theory of social development Jean Piaget, known for his work on
child development, posits that adolescence is the time when young people
develop cognitively from what he called "concrete operations" to "formal
operations".

PSYCHOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

The major psychological challenge that the adolescent must cope with is
moving from childhood to adulthood. Anew person is emerging for whom
rules change, more responsibilities may be given, and a certain standard of
behavior is now required to be maintained. Accountability is becoming an
expectation from both a parental and legal concept.

“Maturity is achieved

When a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term

values.”

Joshua L. Liebman

Psychosexual-analysis Theory of Development

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) believed that personality develops during early

childhood. For Freud, childhood experiences shape our personalities and
behavior as adults. Freud viewed development as discontinuous; he believed that
each of us must pass through a serious of stages during childhood, and that if we
lack proper nurturance and parenting during a stage, we may become stuck, or
fixated, in that stage. Freud’s stages are called the stages of psychosexual
development.

Psychosocial Theory of Development

Erik Erikson (1902–1994) (Figure 1), another stage theorist, took Freud’s theory
and modified it as psychosocial theory. Erikson’s psychosocial development
theory emphasizes the social nature of our development rather than its sexual
nature.