The Intricacies Of The Teenage Brain

Any parent will tell you that their teenager's brain is simply wired differently than their own, but the truth is more that the wires are there but have not been connected properly yet. A child's brain triples in size during the first years of her life, but the fundamental changes going on in an adolescent's gray matter may not be as dramatic but they are incredibly important in terms of maturation and development. Here are some of the reasons why teens act the way they do: it's all in their mind.

Most parents will make complaints such as these: their child doesn't control her impulses, she can't see the consequences of her decisions, she doesn't choose her friends wisely, she doesn't care about her future, she only cares about how she looks, or she thinks she's the center of the universe. Sound familiar? The traits exemplified in these parental complaints are actually characteristic of an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex.

During a child's period of extreme brain growth, when the overabundance of synapses is being trimmed by the body to create a more efficient mechanism, the prefrontal cortex appears to be the last part of the organ to undergo this process. So parents are left with a person who looks like an adult and thinks she is an adult but whose brain cannot physically reason like one yet.

Prefrontal cortex development may only be part of the story, however. Teenager behavior may also be attributed to societal influences and expectations. In some cultures where children are expected to take on adult responsibilities and roles at a much earlier age, some of the behaviors seen in Western societies are virtually non-existent. Does this mean that children's brains develop faster in other cultures to adapt to the jobs they are being asked to do? Or do teens simply learn how to act like adults sooner because they have more intimate daily interactions with older people? This argument has apparently not yet been resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

A teen's seeming inability to control his or her emotions would seem to suggest that there is a large physical component involved. Whatever the cause, parents need to tap their own memories and attempt to retrieve their own feelings and emotions from that time period in their lives. Doing so will help them to better understand what their own teenagers are going through and perhaps cut them a little "developmentally excused" slack. It would certainly make for more peaceful homes and parents will be more likely to help their children grow through this period with kindness and understanding.
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About the Author: Art Gib

Mind Over Brain is to provide a conceptual Understanding the Mind for general audiences and students. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

Why Forgiveness is Important to Your Health

It is easier to bear a grudge against an enemy, easier to build walls than to let them go. Far easier it is to bask in righteous indignation than to admit that perhaps in the larger scheme of things, we are not all that right; perhaps we might even be wrong. Sam Keen once said,"Our problem lies not in our technology, but in our minds, in our ancient tendency to create enemies in our imagination."

This is the function of our ancient reptilian brain, the stalker and enemy maker that lies curled up in our amygdala. Our ancient brain builds fortresses and moats, dredging reptilian memories from mud and walling them within our cerebellum as conditioned reflexes, unthinking, unconscious and primitive. But thanks to our prefrontal cortex, we have the ability to reign in our emotions, view the situation with equanimity and perhaps even go as far as forgiving our enemy.

According to the Mayo Clinic, forgiveness is good for our health. Studies show that anger creates a whole host of nasty effects on our bodies. It suppresses the immune system; it suppresses thyroid function, slowing down the body's metabolism; it impairs the brain's thinking ability and it jeopardizes our ability to sleep. Anger stalls the body's normal processes of repair and recovery. It contributes to the clenching of the jaws and eventual problems with teeth and jaw joints. It increases tension headaches and joint pain.

Most of all, anger elevates heart rate and blood pressure; it increases muscle tension as the body contends with a sense of losing control. Cases of people literally dying from anger are not unusual. Anger can constrict heart muscle and vessels and trigger a heart attack.

Studies also show that men have a more difficult time forgiving than women do. Women have been socialized into being more empathetic than men. Women also find it easier to talk problems over and move towards a common resolution. Women have learned to network since kindergarten; they have learned to build on the basis of cooperation rather than vengeance.

What happens to our body when we release anger and welcome forgiveness?

Our muscles relax. We breathe more easily. Our blood vessels open up; more oxygen enters our bloodstream. We feel as though a load has been taken off our chest. We sleep more deeply, more peacefully at night. Our body processes achieve equilibrium again and our energy fields become unblocked. We are no longer pouring energy into building walls; we can now re-direct energy towards building relationships, coherence and love.

We can all learn to forgive by concentrating on the present. Live in the moment and let past wrongs go; let go of all future worries. Regular meditation sessions can help us redirect our mind and body to the present moment.

All spiritual traditions emphasize the importance of forgiveness because healing, both personal and communal, cannot take place without forgiveness.