Brain During Adolescence

Developing Brain During Adolescence This paper will discuss the developing brain during adolescence. Surprisingly, an adolescent’s brain has ongoing development activity until their 20’s. Throughout this development, the brain, in fact, goes through physical change. The brain consists of several divisions and they each have their own function that all undergo this development process. This structural change occurs naturally but there are potential external influences and experiences that also alter the normal pattern of the development. Adolescents have the capacity to influence the positive development of their brain as well.
Historically, scientists believed that the major “wiring” of the brain was completed by as early as 3 years of age and up to 6 years of age and that the brain was fully mature by 10 or 12. (Konrad et al. 2013) 95% of the structure of the …show more content…
2013) and few changes occur in the actual brain size even though the brain is still going through maturation during adolescence (Bava et al. 2010). Larger-scale longitudinal studies have shown that a basic reorganizations of the brain occurs during adolescence (Konrad et al. 2013). Maturation processes that occur during adolescence are more active than previously believed (Konrad et al. 2013).
The brain consists of the frontal lobe and prefrontal cortex, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, cerebellum, and the corpus callosum. The frontal lobe and the prefrontal cortex are under development during adolescence. It is located in the frontal and upper area of the cortex. This division develops slowly and is the last part of the brain to mature at about 24 years of age. The frontal lobe and prefrontal cortex are responsible for thinking, reasoning, and problem solving. The executive function of the frontal lobe helps you manage time, pay attention, switch focus, plan and organize, remember details, avoid