http://www.edinformatics.com/news/teenage_brains.htm
Before I get really involved in researching my project topic ( and yes I have finally picked a topic), how alcohol affects neurodevelopment and the adolescent brain, one would need to know about the developing teen brain in general. While the brain is still developing during your teenage years into your early twenties and it is the human's most complex organ, the adolescent brain development is a very simple process. There are two stages to brain development, one being a growth spurt and the other part of the process being the pruning and chunking of the neural connections.
The adolescent brain's growth spurt does not occur during adolescence, it actually occurs during utero and within the first eighteen months of life. During this time the brain grows at a rapid pace and produces millions of brain cells. The second part of the developing process occurs when a person is 10-13 years old and it is when the brain organizes and cleans out neural pathways that the brain no longer uses. For example, if a kid is involved with sports and academics the brain keeps the neural connections used to preform the tasks demanded by sports and academics, but if that same kid does not use neural connections involved with music, the brain disposes of them. This is why people tend to be really good at something they do all the time because they have an interest in that area, the brain makes room for the neural connections that are used the most. The "pruning" process makes way so our brains can become much more efficient and faster in transmitting signals through the maze of now organized neural connections. By disposing of neural connections that have no use to the adolescent brain, there is more room for along chain of nerve cells required for complex problem solving used during adulthood.
Brain development starts from the back and works it way to the front so the pre frontal cortex responsible for complex reasoning and important decision making, does not fully develop until people are well into their twenties. Since the pre frontal cortex is still developing in the teenage years, teenagers may make impulsive which possible cause impulsive drinking in the teenage years. That is not to say that adolescents can use that as an excuse to why they drink, because everyone has the power to say no, no matter if your brain is developing or not, but the developing brain does put adolescents at risk for making risky decisions. Conversely to that idea, when the neural connections get pruned away the surviving ones get better at transmitting signals so teens have better execution, impulse control, and a sense of maturation, so teen brains are still developing structurally but at the same time we are mentally and emotionally maturing. Also, during the adolescent years white matter, or nerve tissue along with the hippocampus are still developing and cortical areas continue to thicken, so all developing areas are going to be more sensitive to alcohol's toxic effects.
Links used:
io9.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://io9.com/
the-neuroscience-of-why-teenagers-behave-the-way-they-d-1474948786>.
NCANDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2014. <http://ncanda.org/>.
NL Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://nlbio.wikispaces.com/
HOW+ALCOHOL+AFFECTS+THE+BRAIN>.
NPR.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/
story.php?storyId=122765890>.
PBS.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/
frontline/shows/teenbrain/interviews/todd.html>.
PBS.ORG. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/
frontline/shows/teenbrain/view/>.
Preventing Substance Abuse Together Chesterfield Safe. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept.
2014. <http://chesterfieldsafe.org/ForParents/UnderageDrinking.aspx>.
www.mentorfoundation.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.mentorfoundation.org/uploads/Adolescent_Brain_Booklet.pdf>.
Before I get really involved in researching my project topic ( and yes I have finally picked a topic), how alcohol affects neurodevelopment and the adolescent brain, one would need to know about the developing teen brain in general. While the brain is still developing during your teenage years into your early twenties and it is the human's most complex organ, the adolescent brain development is a very simple process. There are two stages to brain development, one being a growth spurt and the other part of the process being the pruning and chunking of the neural connections.
The adolescent brain's growth spurt does not occur during adolescence, it actually occurs during utero and within the first eighteen months of life. During this time the brain grows at a rapid pace and produces millions of brain cells. The second part of the developing process occurs when a person is 10-13 years old and it is when the brain organizes and cleans out neural pathways that the brain no longer uses. For example, if a kid is involved with sports and academics the brain keeps the neural connections used to preform the tasks demanded by sports and academics, but if that same kid does not use neural connections involved with music, the brain disposes of them. This is why people tend to be really good at something they do all the time because they have an interest in that area, the brain makes room for the neural connections that are used the most. The "pruning" process makes way so our brains can become much more efficient and faster in transmitting signals through the maze of now organized neural connections. By disposing of neural connections that have no use to the adolescent brain, there is more room for along chain of nerve cells required for complex problem solving used during adulthood.
Brain development starts from the back and works it way to the front so the pre frontal cortex responsible for complex reasoning and important decision making, does not fully develop until people are well into their twenties. Since the pre frontal cortex is still developing in the teenage years, teenagers may make impulsive which possible cause impulsive drinking in the teenage years. That is not to say that adolescents can use that as an excuse to why they drink, because everyone has the power to say no, no matter if your brain is developing or not, but the developing brain does put adolescents at risk for making risky decisions. Conversely to that idea, when the neural connections get pruned away the surviving ones get better at transmitting signals so teens have better execution, impulse control, and a sense of maturation, so teen brains are still developing structurally but at the same time we are mentally and emotionally maturing. Also, during the adolescent years white matter, or nerve tissue along with the hippocampus are still developing and cortical areas continue to thicken, so all developing areas are going to be more sensitive to alcohol's toxic effects.
Links used:
io9.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://io9.com/
the-neuroscience-of-why-teenagers-behave-the-way-they-d-1474948786>.
NCANDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2014. <http://ncanda.org/>.
NL Bio. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://nlbio.wikispaces.com/
HOW+ALCOHOL+AFFECTS+THE+BRAIN>.
NPR.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/
story.php?storyId=122765890>.
PBS.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/
frontline/shows/teenbrain/interviews/todd.html>.
PBS.ORG. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/
frontline/shows/teenbrain/view/>.
Preventing Substance Abuse Together Chesterfield Safe. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept.
2014. <http://chesterfieldsafe.org/ForParents/UnderageDrinking.aspx>.
www.mentorfoundation.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.mentorfoundation.org/uploads/Adolescent_Brain_Booklet.pdf>.