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Charlie,

Just last year, there were a series of interesting articles in the Journal
of Adolescent Research.  Males (link to article abstract here:
http://jar.sagepub.com/content/24/1/3.short) makes a persuasive argument
that among the reasons the adolescent brain gets such a bad rap is that the
research has been heavily influenced by confirmatory bias.  He goes on to
argue that if you include relevant biopsychosocial criteria, the stereotype
of adolescent risk taking pretty much dissolves.  Good stuff!

Jeff C.

On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 8:51 AM, Charles Carlson <[log in to unmask]
> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
>
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Okay, this isn't about oat fiber at all, but the pendulum of science may
> be swing back about the nature of the adolescent brain and its path of
> development much like the long standing debate about the benefits of oat
> fiber.
>
>
>
> I found the following story on the NPR iPad App:
>
> http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/10/16/162997951/teenage-brains-are-malleable-and-vulnerable-researchers-say?sc=ipad&f=1128
>
> Teenage Brains Are Malleable And Vulnerable, Researchers Say
> by Jon Hamilton
> NPR - October 16, 2012
>
> Adolescent brains have gotten a bad rap, according to neuroscientists.
>
> It's true that teenage brains can be impulsive, scientists reported at the
> Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans. But adolescent brains are
> also vulnerable, dynamic and highly responsive to positive feedback, they
> say.
>
> "The teen brain isn't broken," says Jay Giedd, a child psychiatry
> researcher at the National Institute of Mental Health. He says the rapid
> changes occurring in the brains of teenagers make these years "a time of
> enormous opportunity."
>
> Part of the bad rap has come from studies suggesting that adolescent
> brains are "wired" to engage in risky behavior such as drug use or unsafe
> sex, says BJ Casey of Weill Cornell Medical College.
>
> These studies have concluded that teens are prone to this sort of behavior
> because the so-called reward systems in their brains are very sensitive
> while circuits involved in self-control are still not fully developed,
> Casey says. The result has been a perception that "adolescents are driving
> around with no steering wheel and no brake," she says.
>
> Casey says a new study from her lab makes it clear that this isn't the
> case.
>
> The study had teens and adults play a game where they got points for
> correctly answering questions about the motions of dots on a screen.
> Meanwhile researchers measured activity in brain regions involved in
> decisions and rewards.
>
> When a lot of points were at stake, teens actually spent more time
> studying the dots than adults and brain scans showed more activity in brain
> regions involved in making decisions.
>
> "Instead of acting impulsively, the teens are making sure they get it
> right," Casey says. She says this shows how teens' sensitivity to rewards
> can sometimes lead to better decisions.
>
> Two other studies presented at the Society for Neuroscience meeting showed
> that the adolescent brain is literally shaped by experiences early in life.
>
> One of the studies involved 113 men who were monitored for depression from
> age 10 and then had brain scans at age 20. The scans showed that men who'd
> had an episode of depression had brains that were less responsive to
> rewards.
>
> "They can't respond naturally when something good happens," says Erika
> Forbes at the University of Pittburgh. She says this shows why it's
> important to treat problems like depression in teens.
>
> The other study looked at how the brain's outer layer of cortex, which
> plays a critical role in thinking and memory, was affected by childhood
> experiences in 64 people. It found that this layer was thicker in children
> who got a lot of cognitive stimulation and had nurturing parents, says
> Martha Farrah of the University of Pennsylvania.
>
> Finally, a study by researchers in the U.S. and U.K. showed how much the
> brain changes during adolescence in regions involved in social interactions.
>
> The study involved 288 people whose brains were scanned repeatedly
> starting at age 7. And the scans revealed dramatic structural changes
> during adolescence in four regions that help us understand the intentions,
> beliefs and desires of others, says Kathryn Mills of the Institute of
> Cognitive Neuroscience in London.
>
> The results show that the tremendous social changes teenagers go through
> are reflected in their brains, Mills says. They also show that these
> changes continue beyond the teen years she says. [Copyright 2012 National
> Public Radio]
>
> To learn more about the NPR iPad app, go to
> http://ipad.npr.org/recommendnprforipad
>
>
>
> Sent from Charlie's iPad
>
> Berkeley, CA
> Mobile 510-499-8086
> Skypein: (510) 984-3543
>
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>
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