The Teen's Brain -- and novel experiences

At the beginning of seventh grade, my son wanted to go to the mall to hang out with friends. By February that activity had become "Boorrrrring!" Sound familiar?

We now know that there is a reason that things that were recently exciting or interesting become boring so quickly. Developing teenaged brains require a great deal of novel stimulation to set up the neural pathways that will eventually serve them well in adulthood. These brains which find something so new today, will find it boring or immature probably by tomorrow. Then the search begins anew for something novel.

Recent research is showing us amazing new information about the Teenager's Brain. For a long time, we believed that teenaged brains -- almost the size of adult brains -- were fully formed, except for their lack of experience. New MRI technology tells us differently. Teens' brains are not like adult brains, they are experiencing substantial change that will not be complete until they are 25.

This explains a lot. We keep feeling as though, if we explain things clearly enough, our kids will get it. One woman who sits on a committee with me said it perfectly, "We parents keep thinking that the kids have our heads on their shoulders."

They don't. The cerebellum which is the physical center of the brain develops early on. It requires lots of physical stimulation. In the meantime, the prefrontal cortex, which controls reason and judgment, is the last part of the brain to fully develop. This is why we see kids making risky choices throughout adolescence and even into college.

The adolescent brain also craves novel experiences much more than the adult brain does. It is why new things that don't offer a lot of neural stimulation become boring quickly. As we all know, hanging out at the mall can become boring pretty fast.

Alcohol and drugs seem to stimulate the neural centers of the brain in ways that continue to feel novel. Unfortunately, they also seem to change the actual development of neural pathways in ways that can create permanent changes, including increasing the likelihood of addictions in the future.

For a much better, yet quick explanation of the Teen's Brain click on this link for the video "Why Do They Act This Way -- A Parent's Guide to the Teen Brain"