Not yet registered?

You are now "Test Driving" Teachers' Domain

You may view up to 7 resources in this limited trial period.

You have 6 views remaining. Register now for unlimited free access and to download, share, and save resources. Learn More

About Registration:

Registering with Teachers' Domain is free and allows you to:

• View as many resources as you like
• Save, sort, and share resources using My Folders and My Groups
• Download resources to your desktop
• See standards correlations for your state

Thank you for "Test Driving" Teachers' Domain

You have viewed all seven resources permitted in this limited trial period. You may continue to browse the site, but to view, download, share, and save resources, you must register now. Registration is simple, safe, and free.

For more information:

Learn about our online Professional Development Courses, or review our Privacy Policy.

If you still have questions, please contact us.

Recommended for: Grades 6-8

Resource: Dr. Jay Giedd: The Adolescent Brain

Save to a folder

Cite This Resource

Media Type:
HTML Document

Size: 1 byte

It's true that our brains are almost fully developed by the time we reach the age of six. However, as neuroscientist Dr. Jay Giedd explains in this transcript from FRONTLINE: "Inside the Teenage Brain," the activities kids engage in during adolescence can have dramatic consequences on the final stages of their brain development.

Teachers' Domain, Dr. Jay Giedd: The Adolescent Brain, published September 26, 2003, retrieved on ,
http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.reg.gieddweb/

Print Background Essay

Many people used to attribute the difference between the way teens think and the way adults think to the hormonal changes that occur during adolescence, or to a teenager's basic psychological need to be independent. But when scientists began looking at brain function in adolescents, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), they found that teenage brains actually work differently from adult brains.

In a recent study, scientists compared the brains of 18 children between the ages of 10 and 18 to those of 16 adults, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Both groups were shown photographs of adult faces. Researchers traced the activity levels in different parts of the brain as subjects were asked to identify the emotions depicted in the photos.

The results surprised the researchers. The adults in the study correctly identified a frightened expression, for example, as fear. Yet the teens in the study often described the same expression using words like surprised or angry. What's more, the teens and adults used different parts of the brain to process their analysis of the expressions. The teens mostly used the amygdala, an almond-shaped region that guides instinctual, or gut, reactions, while the adults relied on the frontal cortex, which governs reason and planning. As the age of the teens increased, the center of brain activity for this exercise shifted more toward the frontal cortex and away from the cruder response of the amygdala.

The scientists who conducted the research believe their study may partially explain why the teenage years are so emotionally turbulent for so many kids. The teens in the study not only seemed to misread the expressions on the adult faces in the photographs, but they reacted strongly from an area deep inside the brain. While the frontal cortex helped the adults distinguish subtlety of expression, this area wasn't fully operating in the teenagers.