Trans, Nonbinary, & Intersex Youth

Question 1

T/F: Bodies that differ from standard M/F anatomy occur in roughly 1/200 births

Answer 1

False. It is 1/100 births.

Question 2

What causes a body to be intersex?

Answer 2

Unique chromosome formation and can manifest in a variety of ways within gonads as well as external genitals .

Question 3

If someone experiences little to no puberty and are incapable of sexual reproduction, they may have _____ syndrome.

Answer 3

Turner’s (XXO chromosomes)

Question 4

Three conditions that may result in changes to one’s sexual anatomy are:

Answer 4

Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
Testosterone Biosynthetic Defects
Androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS)

Question 5

Approximately how many neurons does the brain have? How many connections do these neurons form?

Answer 5

There are around 86 billion, forming around 1 quadrillion connections (this number comes from a 2014 study by Suzana Herculano-Houzel).

Question 6

How fast can information travel in the brain?

Answer 6

350 miles per hour.

Question 7

Describe the synaptic “pruning” process.

Answer 7

It is a use it or lose it process that occurs during childhood and adolescence. Grey matter is pruned back-to-front while white matter is added front-to-back. While this occurs, the brain also develops circuits that can perform multiple functions at once.

Question 8

For a synapse to survive…

Answer 8

it must encounter a partner (an antenna from another cell) to transfer information to it

Question 9

T/F: a bunch of new connections form in the brain right before puberty.

Answer 9

True! Then they get pruned away again.

Question 10

What forces guide the building up or pruning down of the connections between cells?

Answer 10

If you do more of something, it will build connections. The inverse is also true.

Question 11

What area of the brain is not fully developed (myelinated/coated) until well into the third decade of life?

Answer 11

The prefrontal cortex - myelination makes the speed 100 fold faster between axions!

Question 12

List the behavioural and cognitive functions of the prefrontal cortex.

Answer 12

• inhibiting inappropriate behaviour,
• stopping an activity upon completion,
• setting priorities,
• selecting appropriate behaviours,
• organizing plans and ideas,
• forming strategies,
• controlling impulses,
• reasoning,
• judgement,
• providing a temp workspace for working memory, and
• allocating attention.

Question 13

T/F: The development of the prefrontal cortex allows for a greater understanding of rules, laws, and social conduct.

Answer 13

True.

Question 14

What has dopamine been found to be critical for?

Answer 14

• Focusing attention on environmental stimuli when choosing between conflicting options, especially when the goal is not obvious
• Also important for choices based on memory not impulse!
• It is directly linked to the parts of the brain that increase one’s capacity for mature judgment and impulse control.

Question 15

During the teen years, what can exposure to drugs and alcohol do to brain development?

Answer 15

Certain drugs that are in the category of stimulants directly target dopamine neurons. These drugs can cause damage to these neurons and affect adolescent brain development negatively, resulting in an inability to experience rewards and learn from them throughout adulthood.

Question 16

While undergoing fMRIs, adolescents and adults were asked to identify the emotions in people’s faces. Adult response to stimuli tends to be more intellectual, while teens’ is often more “from the gut.” Why might this be? What area of the brain was activated in teens? Adults?

Answer 16

The teens activated the amygdala region, which is responsible for handling circumstances that involve fear, threat, or danger. By contrast, adults tended to activate their prefrontal cortex which is involved with critical thinking, judgement, and sound decision-making.

Question 17

Based on the stage of their brain development, how are adolescents most likely to act compared to adults? How are they less likely to act compared to adults?

Answer 17

Adolescents are more likely to act impulsively, particularly when with their peers. They are also more likely to try new things, take risks, and challenge authority. They are less likely to respond to rewards in an ‘appropriate’ fashion, and may misinterpret social cues or social contexts. They’re also less likely to change their dangerous or inappropriate behaviour. They are also more likely to use substances than their adult counterparts.

Question 18

T/F: Adolescents only need 8-9 hours of sleep per night.

Answer 18

False. Adolescents need at least 9, but 9.5-10 is better.

Question 19

Grade ___ is the peak of vulnerability to peer pressure/peer influence

Answer 19

9.

Question 20

How do the logical-reasoning abilities of 15-year-olds compare to those of adults?

Answer 20

It is comparable to that of adults, under certain conditions. They can perceive risk and estimate their vulnerability to it as well.

Question 21

What is the effect of providing adolescents with information about the risks of substance use, reckless driving, and unprotected sex?

Answer 21

It results in “improvements in young people’s thinking about these phenomena but seldom change[s] their actual behavior.”

Question 22

What is the new view of adolescent risk taking?

Answer 22

• Risk taking is the product of logical reasoning paired with psychosocial factors.
• “Adolescents are as competent decision makers as adults are” but only “under conditions where the influence of psychosocial factors is minimized.”

Question 23

What effect do the hormonal changes of puberty have on the socioemotional network?

Answer 23

• The socioemotional network becomes much more prevalent in the decision-making process. The limbic and paralimbic systems (and the amygdala therein) become more assertive.
• Risk taking, then, is a product of a competition between the socioemotional system (limbic system) and the cognitive control networks (prefrontal cortex)

Question 24

What type of behaviour is the cognitive-control network responsible for?

Answer 24

Planning, thinking ahead, and self-regulation.

Question 25

When and how does the cognitive-control network mature? Are these changes dependent upon puberty?

Answer 25

It matures gradually into young adulthood; it does not depend on puberty

Question 26

The presence of ____ makes it much more likely for adolescents to take risks they otherwise would not.

Answer 26

Friends/peers of the same age

Question 27

What advice does Steinberg provide to prevent unhealthy risk taking in adolescence?

Answer 27

Limit opportunities for immature judgment to have harmful consequences