Neuroscience
Fascinating article from Scientific American Mind about the development of the adolescent brain (in the US). "When teenagers perform certain tasks, their prefrontal cortex, which handles decision making, is working much harder than the same region in adults facing the same circumstances. The teen brain also makes less use of other regions that could help out. Under challenging conditions, adolescents may assess and react less efficiently than adults."
Not quite sure when the teen brain starts to better balance the decision-making load; "Full maturation of executive function occurs only as a completely integrated, collaborative brain system emerges, in the late teens and even in the early 20s, according to psychologists."
What are the implications for parents? For librarians serving YAs and college students?
Note that critics "say there is no such thing as a teen brain ... Adolescents in certain cultures are not racked with the turmoil off American teens, indicating that environment, not inherent brain development, may underlie troubled behavior."
Hmmm.
The Teen Brain, Hard at Work // Under challenging conditions, adolescents may assess and react less efficiently than adults (entire issue available for $5)
Leslie Sabbagh
Scientific American Mind, August 2006 (supposed to be in Academic Search Premier, but not yet there ...)
- The Special Issue Spotter
Linking Parents and Family to Adolescent Peer Relations: Ethnic and Cultural Considerations. (New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development). The editorial says: "This work heralds a new era in research on connections between adolescents’ peer...
- Is It Necessary To Use Brain Imaging To Understand Teen Girls' Sexual Decision Making?
“It is feasible to recruit and retain a cohort of female participants to perform a functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI] task focused on making decisions about sex, on the basis of varying levels of hypothetical sexual risk, and to complete...
- ...always Sardonic (and Occasionally Scathing).
The Neurocritic is very pleased about this wonderful review from Nikhil Swaminathan in the February 2008 issue of Scientific American Mind: Blogs on the Brain by Nikhil Swaminathan Scientific American Mind offers up a hearty helping of science, but for...
- Internet Use Good For Brain Circuitry, As Well As For The Www
From The BBC: Internet use 'good for the brain' Read the full article [snip] Lead researcher Professor Gary Small said: "The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits...
- So-called "lizard Brains" And The Stock Market
This evening's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS incuded a segment entitled Using Your Brain: "A report on what is really going on inside our heads when we make economic decisions. Researchers are beginning to understand how the pre-frontal cortex and...
Neuroscience
The Teen Brain
Fascinating article from Scientific American Mind about the development of the adolescent brain (in the US). "When teenagers perform certain tasks, their prefrontal cortex, which handles decision making, is working much harder than the same region in adults facing the same circumstances. The teen brain also makes less use of other regions that could help out. Under challenging conditions, adolescents may assess and react less efficiently than adults."
Not quite sure when the teen brain starts to better balance the decision-making load; "Full maturation of executive function occurs only as a completely integrated, collaborative brain system emerges, in the late teens and even in the early 20s, according to psychologists."
What are the implications for parents? For librarians serving YAs and college students?
Note that critics "say there is no such thing as a teen brain ... Adolescents in certain cultures are not racked with the turmoil off American teens, indicating that environment, not inherent brain development, may underlie troubled behavior."
Hmmm.
The Teen Brain, Hard at Work // Under challenging conditions, adolescents may assess and react less efficiently than adults (entire issue available for $5)
Leslie Sabbagh
Scientific American Mind, August 2006 (supposed to be in Academic Search Premier, but not yet there ...)
- The Special Issue Spotter
Linking Parents and Family to Adolescent Peer Relations: Ethnic and Cultural Considerations. (New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development). The editorial says: "This work heralds a new era in research on connections between adolescents’ peer...
- Is It Necessary To Use Brain Imaging To Understand Teen Girls' Sexual Decision Making?
“It is feasible to recruit and retain a cohort of female participants to perform a functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI] task focused on making decisions about sex, on the basis of varying levels of hypothetical sexual risk, and to complete...
- ...always Sardonic (and Occasionally Scathing).
The Neurocritic is very pleased about this wonderful review from Nikhil Swaminathan in the February 2008 issue of Scientific American Mind: Blogs on the Brain by Nikhil Swaminathan Scientific American Mind offers up a hearty helping of science, but for...
- Internet Use Good For Brain Circuitry, As Well As For The Www
From The BBC: Internet use 'good for the brain' Read the full article [snip] Lead researcher Professor Gary Small said: "The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits...
- So-called "lizard Brains" And The Stock Market
This evening's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS incuded a segment entitled Using Your Brain: "A report on what is really going on inside our heads when we make economic decisions. Researchers are beginning to understand how the pre-frontal cortex and...