Lecture - Adolescent Brain Flashcards
What is dopamine?
How is it during adolescence?
What sort of change is this?
It makes things fun
The levels of dopamine during adolescence are lower but release levels are higher so everything is a little boring buuuuut when you do something that causes it to be released (like doing something new or taking drugs/alcohol), then it becomes good.
This is a neurobiological change
Pruning and myelination: it’s another neurobiological change. Describe it :)
This happens in especially two areas: limbic system and frontal cortex
People thought there is a linear increase in neurogenesis or synaptogenesis but actually, in adolesccne, the brain prunes and myelination - so pruning is destruction of neurons aka neurons we dont need (like all the little knowledge we arent using in everday life) get broken down. But other pathways that yu are using like how to swim, they increase myelination. It’s “use it or lose it”
Myelination also limits plasticity - there is huge scope to learn things but that decreases through adolescence and adulthood bc brain becoming more specialised and more connected (myelination happeing)
Limbic system:
What three things is controlling?
EMOTION: it’s more active in adolescence. Amygdala is part of this system
