ing (cutting away of unused or unimportant tissue connections) and myelination (insulating of brain pathways to make them faster and more stable.)
Proliferation: Grey matter is where all the thinking happens, the teens “processing center.” Grey matter grows quickly during childhood but slows down upon adolescence. It peeks around 11-13 years old and then grey matter growth begins to decline.
Pruning: The brain matures in a back-to-front pattern. The frontal pattern & temporal lobes are the last to mature. Remember: the frontal lobe is the home of planning, organization, judgment, impulse control and reasoning!
Myelination: Development of white matter that contains long axons. These act like a superhighway transporting information to different parts of the teen brain.
Recent studies report that maturation of the brain continues until the age of 25-30 years old! Harvard researchers and physicians Dr. David K. Urion and Dr. Frances E. Jensen report “The brain grows and continually changes in young people, it is only about 80 percent developed in adolescents. The last section to connect is the frontal lobe, responsible for cognitive processes such as reasoning, planning, and judgment. Normally this mental merger is not completed until sometime between 25-30 years old.”
Due to fast-growing synapses, pruning and sections of the brain that remain unconnected, teens are prone to impulsive behavior and defiance; not because they want to make bad decisions, but often because they genuinely cannot think before they act. As the prefrontal cortex matures, teenagers can reason better, develop more control over impulses and make judgments better.
As adults, we need to understand that our teens brains are still developing and changing. Teenagers need the influence, patience, support and guidance of the adults in their lives. They need reminders of possible consequences to their actions and direction toward reduced risks. As scary as it can be, teens need appropriate amounts of freedom, autonomy and responsibility to encourage healthy brain development. Hopefully, as adults, we can provide teachable moments to strengthen our teens prefrontal cortex, executive functioning and overall brain development.