Pruning And Teenage Brain Development

The first article that was discussed in class was Startling Finds on Teenage Brains (Paul Thompson) this article has strong ethos. Thompson belives that the teeneagers that have commited crime, for example on May 16 fourteen year old Brazil was charged in May because he shot a middle school teacher. Brazil was found guilty of second-degree murder. Thompson claims that the teenage brain isn't fully developed at a young age, because of this many teens are making reckless choices. The author Paul Thompson claims “my own research group at the university of California, Los Angeles, and our colleagues at the national institutes of health have developed technology to map the patterns of brain growth in individual children and teenagers. With repeated

For decades, the human brain has been one of the most complex organs found in our body. Scientists all around the world are always trying to find new information as to how this special organ works and all the affects it has on people. The brain has its own way of developing and changing as it grows, and many scientists and researchers find that as the brain grows in our teen years, there are a lot of reasons behind embarrassment and brain pruning.  Embarrassment is a feeling of self-consciousness, shame, or awkwardness caused by hormones, while brain pruning is extra neurons and synaptic connections that are eliminated in order to increase the efficiency of neuronal transmissions. Each text discusses a different relationship between behavior and the brain, which are embarrassment and pruning. Two major differences between embarrassment and brain pruning are what goes on in the brain that causes these activations and the age at which they occur.

The brain has the function of making their body work and help with the teens brain daily life. The gray matter is where nerves are located. They are affect the way the person acts. The gray matter is where the nerves are located . One nerve is made up of neurons-a nerve cell-The neuron is made up of dendrites, axons and nucleus . The dendrites receive signals from axon terminals and this is a synapses. As a teen grows the brain starts pruning its synapses. With this the brain is taking out instructions the brain can already do or already knows. This is making room for new ideas. The brain secretes many hormones and neurotransmitters. A well known and used neurotransmitter is dopamine. Dopamine gives the brain a faster production time to make decision.

When asked if teenagers can understand the true meaning of love, I would have to weigh in that I do not believe teenagers can perceive the concept of love.

Thompson, Paul..”Startling Finds on Teenage Brains.” SpingBoard: English Language Arts Ed. Betty Barnett. Tampa: College Board, 2015. 89-90. Print.

Paul Thompson in the article,Startling Finds on Teenage Brains,claims that over the last several years,as school shootings have seemed to occur with disturbing frequency. Thompson supports his claim by first describes fourteen year old Nathaniel Brazill´s case because he shot middle-school teacher Grunow. He then explains his and other people's research that is about the thoughts of teens like how he was talking about how he was working on mapping the patterns of brain growth.Lastly, the author explores into the fact that teens have a massive loss of brain tissue. Thompson´s purpose is to inform the reader the thoughts that teenagers have and how when people are teens they have the most brain tissue loss so that they themselves know the thoughts

Describe the anatomy of the neuron and the ways that neurons communicate with each other.

When one compares the structure of the adult brain and the teenage brain, there will be several differences between the two. Adults have stronger connections from one nerve cell to another, and they all have essential communication skills. However, teenagers have more synapses and have weaker nerve connections. Also, their frontal lobes aren 't fully developed. This causes adolescence to have impulsive behavior and they typically do not recognize consequences in a situation. In the early twenties the brain becomes fully developed, so people are very good at making decision and they are able to think abstractly. There are many factors that contribute to the construction of the brain; some things help the brain develop normally, other things interrupt the process. There is a substantial amount of distinctions between the adult brain and the adolescent brain, and these includes behavioral and structural differences.

In the article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains” (May 25, 2001), by Paul Thompson, the author argues that teenagers should not be legally treated as adults because their brains are not fully developed. First Thompson raises a question whether teenagers should be tried as adults after the trial of fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Brazill who is charged with second-degree murder for the shooting of his middle school teacher. Following up the numerous questions from reporters and teen advocates, Thompson informs the audience about the loss brain tissue in teenage brains and its correlation to the teenagers’ violent tendencies. After elaborating that teenagers need the correct guidance to steer their development onto the right path, he concludes

It is therefore important to keep mentally engaged! When the child makes it to two years of age, billions of neuron connections are established, which only increases throughout the lifetime (Feldman 94). It was once alleged that the brain could not generate new neurons to replace old or damaged neurons, but this belief was found untruthful. Research from a part of the brain known as the hippocampus showed evidence of new cells and formation (Sprenger). This new research found that the brain loses cells on a daily basis while, at the same time, grows new neurons to replace the dead cells through a process known as neurogenesis (Coon and Mitterer 63). Another interesting fact is that most neurons are stored in columns in the neocortex part of brain and a chain of neurons are called the neural network. This all relates to the vital theory of Long-Term Potentiation (LTP), which states that every time a neuron sends information, the memory of the data sent is literally programmed to that cell. The information is learned multiple times while it is practiced and the signal has the potential to learn and go faster each time (Sprenger). Scientists must learn what these new cells do, but it is believed to be hugely involved in learning and memory processes (Coon and Mitterer 63). Dendrites are truly interesting and amazing cells!

The article “Inside the Teenage Brain” by Marty Wolner states that recently, brain researchers have been able to do a great quantity of detailed studies on the human brain. Despite previous thoughts about the teenage brain, development of the brain through the teenage years is very dynamic. The teenage brain is still learning how to process certain information properly in the thinking part of the brain, so often teens may not process all the information necessary to make responsible decisions. Nevertheless, the teenage years can be very stressful for both parents and for teens. Getting through the teenage years can be difficult, but with the right amount of healthy communication, discipline and support the road ahead won’t be so rough. At this

Americans today tend to believe that the juvenile crime rate in the United States has risen in the last decade. June 25, 2012 was an important date for this chaotic standard, because this was the day the Supreme Court declared juveniles who had been tried as adults for murder could not be sentenced to life in prison without parole. With this decision the U.S court system gave individuals who are serving life in prison, as teenagers, a chance for a better life. Adolescents should not be sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in a prison cell because of the imprudent decisions they made as minors.

Throughout the process of “pruning”, also known as synapse elimination, in the teenage brain is a complex developing period which consists of shortening unused synapses and increasing the vitality of those that are used frequently by the individual. All adolescents experience of phase of childhood development where they tend to forget specific affairs and engage in poor decision making, and there are explanations for this residing in the brain. More specifically, as stated by PBS, “the activation of the hippocampus would show why teenagers do not remember certain duties or events”. In addition to this, there is also a “growth spurt” in the frontal cortex in the teenage brain, and the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed yet, which is crucial

In the film , Inside the Teenage Brain, we are told many interesting facts about the teenage brain. For instance, Doctor Jay Giedd, who is trying to figure out the wirings of the teenage brains says, “The grey matter or the thinking part of the brain continues to thicken throughout childhood as the brain cells grow extra connections. Much like a tree growing extra branches, twigs and ruts.” Meaning, as the teenage brain is growing it is developing new pathways and leaving behind other pathways. The new pathways that are growing can be either a positive branch or a negative.

Brain development in the first two years is the most important and critical. Maria Montessori referred to this time as of the "absorbent mind" Early brain development is the frame work for the road ahead. When and how the brain develops in the first two years will play a critical role into adulthood. At birth, the brain is the only incomplete organ. The brain will continue to grow through childhood and adolescents.