S2 W4 Adolescence

Question 1

Adolescent = age of vulnerability

Answer 1

Some 75% of lifetime mental health disorders have their onset before 24 years of age (Kessler et al., 2005). + Risky behavior, key time fir preserving life-long health.

Question 2

Phases of adolescence

Answer 2

Early (10-13). Middle (14-18). Late (19-25).

Question 3

Adolescence definition (1)

Answer 3

Adolescence begins in biology and ends in culture. Adolescence is a journey from biological adulthood to societal adulthood. (Santrock, 2002)

Question 4

Adolescence definition (2)

Answer 4

Adolescence begins with the onset of puberty and ends…sometime! (Walsh, 2004)

Question 5

Brain development during adolescence

Answer 5

Different parts of the brain develop at different rates = Subcortical regions (inner) tend to mature before cortical regions (surface).
Motor and sensory systems mature first.

Question 6

Subcortex (inner)

Answer 6

Inner part of the brain (e.g., basal ganglia, pituitary gland, amygdala) Structures responsible for emotion, hormones, memory, and other “basic functions”. White matter.

Question 7

Cortex

Answer 7

Surface of the brain (e.g., motor cortex, frontal cortex) Structures responsible for “higher-level functions” such as decision making. Grey matter.

Question 8

Sex differences in brain maturation.

Answer 8

Brain maturation occurs earlier for girls.

Question 9

Adolescent brains are more sensitive to

Answer 9

Dopamine - linked to motivation.
Oxytocin - linked to social rewards. (peer pressure)

Question 10

Prefrontal cortex development

Answer 10

Gray matter maturation is (= with nonhuman primate + human postmortem studies) showing that the prefrontal cortex is one of the last brain regions to mature.

Question 11

Subcortex vs Cortex development

Answer 11

White matter (subcortex) volume increases in a roughly linear pattern. Gray matter (cortex) decreases.

Question 12

Puberty & Subcortical maturation (Godding et al. 2014)

Answer 12

Found that the amygdala and hippocampus increase in size with puberty/age.
Other parts of basal ganglia, like putamen and caudate, reduce in size with puberty and age.

Question 13

Sex differences in subcortical maturation (Goddings et al. 2014)

Answer 13

Amygdala overall volume change was similar between the sexes, but the growth trajectories were different. (so was the hippocampus)
This is consistent with the different patterns of testosterone concentration in puberty (Ankarberg & Norjavaara, 1999).

Question 14

Sexual dimorphism (differences) in mental health disorders & puberty

Answer 14

Mood disorders are generally more prevalent in cis women than in cis men.
Psychotic disorders (e.g., schizophrenia) have a similar prevalence but different onset times. The onset for cis men is earlier than that of cis women.