Topic 2; pre-adult brain development - background

Question 1

what occurs during early brain development?

Answer 1

the neurons of the cortex are developed in the uterus but remain poorly connected until after birth
eventually, synaptic connections are made which involves the development of memory, thoughts, emotions and conscious actions
development begins in the visual cortex and then the frontal and temporal lobes that is responsible for higher cognition and emotional functioning

Question 2

what occurs during adolescent brain development?

Answer 2

grey matter reaches peak volume and begins to decrease in density across several cortical regions and continues to do so through to early adulthood in a process known as synaptic pruning - the prefrontal cortex is one of the last area of the brain to fully develop; studies suggest that prefrontal cortex development completes at the age of 25

Question 3

what is synoptic pruning?

Answer 3

connections in the brain that are not used are eliminated; the environment is important in determining what connections in the brain are mostly needed, this allows the brain to be more efficient in its use of energy - by removing the less efficient brain connections, this will strengthen those that are required

Question 4

how does brain development impact risk taking behaviour?

Answer 4

• adolescents are more prone to risk taking behaviour because their prefrontal cortex is underdeveloped and so the limbic system dominates the executive controls of the prefrontal cortex; this means that irrational decision making is more common and more likely to occur under higher levels of social influence
• as adolescents are more likely to act irrationally, consequences for their actions will be less influential than the rewards and so they are more likely to engage in sexual activity and drinking because they seek the rewards of their behaviour

Question 5

what is the limbic system?

Answer 5

involved in the processing of social and emotional information and develops earlier than the prefrontal cortex

Question 6

what is the ventral striatum?

Answer 6

area of the brain that is referred to as the reward centre because it is highly sensitive to rewards