WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Health Alert: The teenaged brain

Health Alert: The teenaged brain

(Los Angeles) May 26, 2004 - Jeff Taw coaches a soccer team of adolescent girls and has teenagers of his own. He knows first hand how erratic teenagers can be, "They tend to have a mind of their own, and unfortunately usually about 15 different minds going in different directions."

Now, researchers have evidence that the teen brain, and not just raging hormones, could be to blame for the erratic behavior.

Dr. Paul Thompson, an associate professor at UCLA, says, "Teenagers are not really famous for organizing themselves. They sometimes do things that are pretty rash. This is partly because the frontal lobes that actually control those actions are not done developing until their 20's."

Dr. Thompson helped to create the first ever time-lapse movie of the developing brain. The images, made from MRI scans processed in a super-computer at UCLA, show that the region of the brain responsible for reasoning and problem solving is among the last to develop, "You can actually see in these movies changes happening in the parts of the brain that control emotion, inhibition, all of the things that teens don't do particularly well."

Researchers spent a decade cataloging and scanning the brains of 18 children as they matured into adults. That is how they documented that puberty brings on a major growth spurt in the frontal lobe of the brain.

Researchers hope the findings will lead to a better understanding of why teenagers may feel such angst. Emily Palmer, a 15-years-old, says, "Seriously, 'cause you don't know what to expect. You don't know what is going to happen."

They also hope it will serve as a reminder for parents like Jeffrey Taw, "You have to stay in touch, keep an eye on what they are doing."

Even when they seem hard headed, parents may need to provide structure, organization, and decision making skills for teens whose brains are still developing. Dr Thompson says, "The more structured things are for teens, it will help them get on the right track."

Researchers are hoping that the study will lead to a better understanding of major mental illnesses. Scientists believe that the development of the teenage brain may explain the timing of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which often begin in adolescence and contribute to the high teen suicide rate.

posted 11:27am by Chris Rees