The adolescent brain: a work in progress.

Abstract

Neuroscience the scientific study of the biology of the brain has made great strides over the past decade in revealing that remarkable changes occur in the brain during the second decade of life. Contrary to long-held ideas that the brain was mostly grown-up--fully cooked--by the end of childhood it is now clear that adolescence is a time of profound brain growth and change. In fact the brain of an early adolescent in comparison to that of a late adolescent differs measurably in anatomy biochemistry and physiology. Between childhood and adulthood the brains wiring diagram becomes richer more complex and more efficient especially in the brains frontal lobe or front outer mantle which is the seat of such higher order functions as learning and socialization. An important part of the frontal lobes is the prefrontal cortex (PFC) which is often referred to as the CEO or executive of the brain and is responsible for such skills as setting priorities organizing plans and ideas forming strategies controlling impulses and allocating attention. New research suggests that the PFC is one of the last areas of the brain to fully mature. (excerpt)