Understanding the Misunderstood Teenage Brain
A woman named Frances Jensen is a neuroscientist. She has been studying the human brain for almost all of her career. But even she was not ready for the job of raising two teenage boys. What made this task so difficult? Trying to find out why intelligent and responsible young people still did stupid things.
So, Dr. Jenson did what any neuroscientist would do: she studied years of research on the human brain.
What she found might clear up some myths, or misinformation about teenagers. Her findings might also provide help for parents, teachers and anyone hoping to understand the complex mind of a teenager.
Myth 1 – A teen’s body and brain grow at the same pace.
When children reach puberty, their bodies change.Teenagers start to look like adults. You might think that their brains are also becoming more like adult brains.
Not true, says Dr. Jensen.
Dr. Jensen recently wrote a book on teenagers and their brains. The book is called The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults. In it, she explains the strengths and weaknesses of the brain during this time of development. She says the connections, or wiring, of the teen brain is better for learning new things than the adult brain.
Some parts of the teenage brain are simply not yet connected, she explains. These areas are the ones responsible for judgment, making good decisions, self-control and empathy, or the ability to share someone else’s feelings.
