Brian’s Brain

Can current brain research help us understand adolescent behavior?

Sandy PowellAdolescent and School Health ProgramAlabama Department of Public Health

Defining Adolescence That awkward period between sexual maturation

and the attainment of adult roles and responsibilities Transition from “child” status (requiring adult

monitoring) to “adult” status (self responsibility for behavior

Developmental stage includes the body and brain changes of puberty

Adolescents today are categorized as

10-24 year olds

Stages of Adolescent Development

• Early AdolescenceFemales: 9 - 13 yoMales: 11 – 15 yo

• Middle AdolescenceFemales: 13 – 16 yoMales: 14 – 17 yo

• Late AdolescenceFemales: 16 – 21 yoMales: 17 –21 yo

Early Adolescence

• Adjusting to body/pubertal changes “Am I normal?”

• Concern with body image and privacy

• Begin separation from family, increased parent-child conflict

• Self preoccupation and fantasy

• Moody!

• Same-sex friends and group activities

• Concentration of relationships with peers

• Concrete thinking but beginning to explore new ability to abstract - focused on the present

Middle Adolescence

• Extremely concerned with looks- “Am I attractive?”

• Increased independence from family-(vacation dilemmas)

• Increased importance of peer group (Everyone’s doing it)

• Experimentation with relationships & sexual behaviors

• Movement towards forming sexual orientation / identity

• Increased abstract thinking ability

• Development of ideals & selection of role models

• The altruistic idealist

Late Adolescence

• Autonomy nearly secured-not mean totally

• Body image & gender role definition nearly secured

• Thinking beyond themselvesworld view

• Attainment of abstract thinking & useful insight

• Greater emotional stability

• Greater intimacy skills

• Sexual orientation nearly secured

• Ability to express ideas in words

• Concern for future

• Transition to adult roles-school, work

Tasks of Adolescence• Body matures to sexual adult-Rapid Physical

Growth

• Cognitively-brain develops moves from concrete thinking to abstract thinking skills

• Morally, the teen identifies meaningful moral /social standards, values and belief systems

• Identity formed– gender, sexual, cultural

• Teen defines an adult role with responsibilities- Brain changes are linked to each component

Source: A. Rae Simpson, PhD, Parenting of Adolescents Center, Harvard School of Public Health

ADOLESCENCE…heated by Nature as drunken

men to wineI would (wish) that there were

no age between ten and twenty three…

for there is nothing in between but getting wenches with child,

wronging the ancientry, stealing, fighting…

Shakespeare (The Winter’s Tale; Act III)

And yet ….

Considered to be the healthiest and most resilient period of the lifespan

Experiencing ultimate strength, speed, reaction time, mental reasoning abilities, immune function, resistance to cold, heat, hunger, dehydration and most injuries

HOWEVER morbidity and mortality rates increase 200-300% between middle childhood and early adulthood

Onset of nicotine dependence, alcohol and substance use, poor health habits will show up as adult mortality

Many adult onset problems such as depression can be traced to early adolescent episodes

Highlights in Brain Research

Epilepsy is a “disturbance of the brain.”

The brain is the “seat of all intelligence”

-HIPPOCRATES 460-379 BC

-PLATO agrees 363 BC

Hydrocephalus described for the first time 1550 AD

Optic nerves were discovered to be originated from the brain

Highlights in Brain ResearchPHRENOLOGY 1820s to 1840s

The brain is the organ of the mind.

The mind is composed of multiple distinct, innate faculties.

Because they are distinct, each faculty must have a separate seat or "organ" in the brain.

The shape of the brain is determined by the development of the various organs.

As the skull takes its shape from the brain, the surface of the skull can be read as an accurate index of psychological aptitudes and tendencies

Phineas Gage

Crucial evidence of the relation between personality and the function of the front part of the brain-

1848 Phineas Gage, Railway foreman working in Cavedish, Vermont

3’ 7” tamping iron entered his skull in an accidental explosion

Phineas Gage

Entered under his left cheekbone and came out the top of his head landing 25-30 yards behind him

After hospital treatment for 10 weeks friends commented he was “no longer Gage” unable to keep a job

Died in 1860, body exhumed in 1867 and studied, tamping iron on display at the Medical Collage of Harvard University

Brain Basics

All babies are born with approximately 100 billion neurons

At birth 17% of neurons are wired By the end of adolescence brain has over 10

billion neurons and another 100 billion support cells forming over 100 trillion connections- more than all the internet connections in the world

Prior to 1992brain development was thought to be complete by puberty

Adolescent Neurons….

Connections that receive the most neurochemical juice survive

Use itor lose it

Brain Basics

Neurons that fire together, wire together some connections are strengthened, others eliminated

Blossoming- just prior to puberty and during puberty a stage of increased connections between cells

Pruning Sequence Window of opportunity, window of sensitivity

Brain Basics Hormones are neurotransmitters that oil

communication between neurons 50 different hormones are highly charged

during adolescence, including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone

Testosterone levels increase 1000x during adolescence, approximately 7 surges a day causes male adolescence preoccupation with sex, increased competitiveness, risk taking

Brain Basics Spike in estrogen &

progesterone impacts mood stability, risk of depression, causes emotional amplification

Brain development begins in the back and moves forward

Advances in MRI technology has allowed activity areas of the brain to be charted as never before

Brain CEO-Prefrontal Cortex (frontal lobes) Behavioral & Cognitive functions

1. Plans, Organizes2. Considers

Consequences3. Reflects, Insight4. Impulse Control5. Sets Priorities6. Forms strategies7. Allocates attention8. Stop, Look, Listen

Youth Behavior…. Lack of planning

Rarely fully consider consequences

Emotional outbursts, mood instability

Difficulty inhibiting inappropriate behavior

Not good decision makers

Easily distracted

Leading to…..

Increased risk behavior, recklessness and sensation-seeking Increased conflicts with parents (intensity) Mood volatility (and increased negative mood)

Behavior detour…. The Amygdala is the

emotional center of the brain, produces “gut” reactions

While the prefrontal cortex is still under construction behavior is frequently controlled through the amygdala

Almond shaped wad of cells in the center of the brain

PARENTS MUST BE SURROGATE PREFRONTAL CORTEX

Driving fast with no brakes…

The amygdala does not reason Sensation seeking portion of the brain Fight or flight response Filled with testosterone receptors-

Competitiveness Aggression Risk taking

Adolescent Brain Development Research Reinforces the

effectiveness of Positive/Healthy Youth

Development What is Positive Youth Development (PYD)?

Recognizes adolescence as a time of significant change and transition

Acknowledges adolescent developmental stages

Believes in the capacity and the potential of all youth people and that all youth need developmental opportunities

Emphasizes providing services and opportunities to support all young people in developing a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and empowerment

Is BOTH prevention and intervention

.

Healthy Youth Development

RiskFactors

Protective

Factors

Protective Factors in Adolescence

• Parental/family connectedness

• Connectedness to a significant adult

• School engagement & success

• Not working, or working < 20 hours/wk

• Being “in-sync” with peers re: physical dev

• Perceived importance of religion and prayer

• Participation in organized activities

Researchers on Healthy Youth Development Marti Erickson

3 C’s Connection Competence Contribution

Youth need the opportunity to: Participate as citizens, as

members of a household, as workers, and as responsible members of society

Gain experience in decision making

Interact with peers, and acquire a sense of belonging

Reflect on self, in relation to others, and to discover self by looking outward as well as inward

Youth need the opportunity to: Discuss conflicting values and

formulate one’s own value system

Experiment with one’s own identity, with relationships to other people, with ideas; to try out various roles without having to commit oneself irrevocably

Develop a feeling of accountability in the context of a relationship among equals

Cultivate a capacity to enjoy life

Find expression through the creative arts

Conclusion: Why Invest in Adolescent Health?

Annually, an estimated $700 billion is spent on preventable adolescent health problems.

This estimate considers only the direct and long term medical and social costs associated with 6 common health problems:

Adolescent pregnancy

Sexually transmitted infections

Motor vehicle injuries

Alcohol & other drug problems

Other unintentional injuries

Mental health problems

Questions?www.adph.org/schoolhealth