Inside the Teenage Brain

Question 1

Cells that are used will… cells that are not used or making connections will…

Answer 1

thrive and flourish… wither and die. Use it or lose it.

Question 2

When is the dramatic growth in cells and connections happen?

Answer 2

Before becoming a teen/before puberty.

Question 3

When does substantial changes in brain development happen rapidly?

Answer 3

1 or 2 years.

Question 4

When does an unexpected growth spurt happen? The same over production of cells just before puberty.

Answer 4

Same process that happens in the womb and first 18 months of life.

Question 5

What happens during the second wave of over production of brain cells?

Answer 5

Thickening of gray matter.

Question 6

At what age is the brain already 95% of the adult size?

Answer 6

Age 6 and will continue to thicken throughout childhood as the brain cells grow/make extra connections.

Question 7

What is the pruning down phase?

Answer 7

Use it or lose it. Cell connections that are used will survive and flourish. Those that are not used will wither and die.

Question 8

Cognitive Flexibility

Answer 8

Fluid way of problem solving.

Question 9

Teens are capable of of intellectual and artistic accomplishments but what is the part of the brain called that is not fully board/developed that warns us of potential consequences?

Answer 9

Frontal Cortex

Question 10

It’s easy to feel what when you are good, determined, and young?

Answer 10

Invulnerable

Question 11

At what age are adolescences experiencing a period of high risk and still immature, often not making the most responsible and reasoned decisions.

Answer 11

13-15 years old.

Question 12

How many years can drugs and alcohol affect the brain?

Answer 12

For the next 80 years.

Question 13

What is the cause for dramatic changes in mood?

Answer 13

Changes in hormones.

Question 14

What part of the brain has to slowly change so kids have the ability to regulate powerful emotions, solve problems more effectively, and be more “planful” in their behavior.

Answer 14

Changes in the frontal cortex.

Question 15

What are teens unable to read all of?

Answer 15

Feelings in adult faces.

Question 16

Adolescent’s what has less activation than adults and more of what than adults?

Answer 16

Less pre-frontal activation and more emotion/gut.

Question 17

What changes the most during the teen years, that changes the coordination of muscles and the coordination of our thinking process?

Answer 17

Cerebellum

Question 18

What shifts forward as children become teens?

Answer 18

the Circadian clock shifts forward.

Question 19

What happens during REM sleep?

Answer 19

Dreaming and learning happens during REM sleep. The same part of the brain that was working while learning the new skill continues to rehearse and practice. The brain consolidates and improves on what was learned.

Question 20

What gives someone the best advantage than anything else?

Answer 20

A good nights sleep.

Question 21

Myth of the First Three Years

Answer 21

Mobiles, Mozart, and lost of stimulus.

Question 22

What makes the biggest difference in a child’s life?

Answer 22

The relationships, people, and connections; it’s the people in the child’s lief that makes the biggest difference.

Question 23

When do kids need adults the most?

Answer 23

When the adult(s) push off kids.