subject: How To Adopt Healthy Brain Habits Since Adolescence: Top 10 Resources [print this page] Being a teenager can be a challenging time, both for the teenager and for those around him or her (parents, teachers). Adolescents (like most other adults) do not always understand why they behave the way they do. Why is it difficult being a teenager or interacting with one? Why do teenagers sometimes adopt risky behaviors, strange sleeping habits, addiction, impulsivity, etc.?
As looking at what is happening in a teenage brain can provide answers to these questions, we selected the Top 10 Resources to help you better understand the teenage brain. The major thread to navigate these resources is the concept of a brain still maturing. Indeed, an adolescent brain is not yet an adult brain. Major changes are still happening, principally in the frontal lobes (more specifically in the prefrontal cortex). The frontal lobes support the so-called executive functions: decision-making, problem-solving, planning, inhibiting, as well as other high-level functions (social behavior, emotional control, working memory, etc.).
1. Brain Storm: A fun and interactive feature from the New Scientist website to discover which parts of the brain are maturing during adolescence and how this maturation can explain some unique adolescent behaviors, such as risk taking and morning lies in.
2. The Adolescent Brain: A work in progress: This document, written in the context of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, summarizes the many changes that occur in the teenage brain. A detailed and interesting read by Daniel Weinberger, M.D., Brita Elvevg, Ph.D and Jay Giedd, M.D.
3. Teenage Brain Fact Sheet, by the NIHM (National Institute of Mental Health): Summarizes the most significant recent neuroimaging studies showing changes in the teenage brain. These changes may reflect a process called synaptic pruning, which has been shown to occur earlier in life too: Neural connections (synapses) that get exercised/used are retained, while those that do not are lost.
4. Inside the Teenage Brain: With this very complete PBS documentary you will learn about research findings on the teen brains, the effect of sleep on teenagers' memory, and many more interesting facts. Advice and online activities for parents are also available.
5. Interviews with Scientists: A great complement to the PBS program are the interviews with the scientists appearing in the program. We recommend in particular the interview with Dr. Jay Giedd, a neuroscientist at the NIMH, who talks about what teens do during their adolescent years and how it can affect how their brains develop.
6. Brief on mental disorders: This factsheet from the Society for Neuroscience explores potential brain-based reasons why disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder usually emerge during adolescence.
7. Depression in Adolescents: The NIMH provides here information on antidepressant medications for adolescent: Do they work? What does research tell us? What's the relationship between SSRI and suicide rates in teenagers?
8. Teenagers and addiction: This NPR story shows how their brain chemistry explains how easily teenagers can become addicted to alcohol, nicotine and illegal substances.
9. Dr. Robert Sylwester's book, The Adolescent Brain, combines personal stories with knowledge from psychology, education and neuroscience. Dr. Sylwester explains how teenagers are learning "how to be productive reproductive human beings" by planning the future, exploring emotions and sexuality and becoming independent.
10. Dr. Sheryl Feinstein' s book, The Secrets of the Teenage Brain: Research Based Strategies for Reaching & Teaching Today's Adolescents is a nice hand-son guide that helps educators use insights from current research on the teenage brain to in turn help their teenage students achieve their full academic potential.
In sum, teenagers' brains are still in training. One important implication is that these years have a huge potential in terms of establishing brain healthy habits. Everyone has a brain, and adolescents have a great opportunity to adopt healthy habits early to help develop and maintain their brain functionality through life.
