The Adolescent Brain ....................... Turbo-charged Learning

by Sarah Stuart, LCSW

God designed the transition process of the adolescent brain to prepare them for adulthood. The adolescent brain is under construction. Now more than ever, neuroscience has focused research on adolescent brain development. Researchers have discovered that the adolescent brain is far from completion. The brain is constantly changing until a person reaches into their 20's.


The brain develops from the bottom up, like a stack of building blocks.

The lower building blocks, the brain stem and the cerebellum, are the first areas of the brain to develop. They control basic body functions, physical balance, blood pressure and body temperature. This occurs between birth and approximately 12 years of age.

The upper building blocks, the limbic system and the cerebral cortex, are referred to as the 'intellectual' or thinking brain. This development occurs between 12 years of age into the 20's. The limbic system is the emotional core of the brain.
The pre-frontal cortex is where reason, logic and rational thinking originate. The pre-frontal cortex is not fully developed until the 20's.

The predominant brain growth during adolescence is in the limbic system. So... the emotional brain (limbic system) is leading until the rational part (pre-frontal cortex) catches up in the 20's. The key to understanding your teen is to know that the emotional brain can dominate your teens’ growth and behaviors.

Teens often use the word 'drama' to describe what their lives feel like. It is this drama that can make parenting and working with teens so challenging. You can promote a more peaceful adolescence and communicate more effectively by understanding how the teen brain thinks.
Simply put, teens process information differently than adults.
Teens = emotional brain (limbic system)
Adult = rational brain (pre-frontal cortex)

This means that teens are more likely than adults to respond emotionally to a situation! Teens may not be able to find the words to express their feelings. It also means that teens are prone to react more quickly and without considering the consequences of their actions. As they move through adolescence, teens learn to read others’ emotions, but they still frequently misinterpret how other people feel. Due to all the changes in the brains, teens get slower, for a while, at being able to identify emotions, both their own and others’.

The developing adolescent brain is very vulnerable to stress and in emotionally charged situations teens may overreact. They may push the boundaries and break the rules. They may cry and get angry without an obvious reason. As the brain matures, teens will operate more and more from the pre-frontal cortex, were reasoning and judgment occur.

When learning to ride a bike, parents prepare their children with some informative instruction before pushing them. Teens need the same kind of parental/adult guidance as they take their first independent steps. The teen's brain is acquiring the 'hardware' it needs for functional adulthood. But, the adolescent brain is not there yet. Adolescents need healthy and caring adults in their lives to provide a supportive, enriched environment that optimizes this developmental window of opportunity.

First, we can anticipate some chaos and conflict, emotional peaks and valleys, risk-taking and rule-breaking as teens navigate the tremendous physical and neuro-developmental changes that will bring them to adulthood.

Parents/adults must take an active role in creating opportunities for teens to:
• practice making decisions
• develop new skills
• seek healthy adventure and take positive risks
• spend quality time with adult mentors
• adopt healthy lifestyles that minimize stress and allow time for plenty of sleep.

All of these strategies promote resilience in youth. In turn, the resilience reduces the likelihood of unhealthy risk behaviors and increases the potential of a teen's brain.

God intended for the adolescent stage to happen under the parents’ supervision! Teens need hundreds of age-appropriate reality checks before leaving the nest. It’s important that as a parent you understand that they:
• will emote emotions
• need peer relations to develop their internal and external self
• are dealing with rapid brain changes
• need to take risks
• need help to explore interests

Let's come along side our teens and help their turbo-charged brains with their powerful drive to become healthy adults!

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