Why the teenage brain has an evolutionary advantage

All the seemingly crazy behaviors of teenagers, they aren’t just there to annoy parents – they might serve a real evolutionary purpose.

Not only are the brains of teenagers still developing, but different regions of the brain are changing at different rates, with important consequences.

Adriana Galván, associate professor of Psychology at UCLA and director of the UCLA Developmental Neuroscience Lab, has found that teen behaviors like risk-seeking and display of strong #emotions are actually adaptive traits that help teens succeed.

Galván’s research has found that not only are teens more sensitive to rewards than adults, this makes them better learners – better, even, than adults.

00:00 — It's not easy being a teenager
00:22 — When the brain completes the adolescent phase
00:43 — The prefrontal cortex
01:00 — The limbic system
01:38 — The striatum
02:39 — Teenage risk-taking

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#teenager #teens #brain #psychology #ucla #neuroscience

[BadFurious]

I'm going to say poop and nobody can stop me.



Poop.

[skyeforshay]

What a great insight on positive advantages of the teenage brain. The fact that their brains are more propelled by the reward system at this developmental stage and less likely to "put on the brakes" can absolutely have an evolutionary benefit to our species. This viewpoint can remind us as adults to appreciate this stage and put it into perspective while they continue to develop the prefrontal cortex.

[Aiphiae]

I suppose this suggests that the "rewards" from constant social media and cell phone use are even more potent (addictive/damaging?) to the teenage brain than the adult brain as well...

[sandilowery]

Any parent of an adolescent can relate to this video! What I wonder about is how teens in countries like those in eastern Asia manage their risk taking, high energy levels, and desire for instant rewards when their culture doesn't provide the environment for this?

[annaconda_G]

A few months ago, i was talking to myself about maturity and my brain just said "full psychological development and maturity ends somewhere between 20-25, but some finishes quicker"

Not lying

[emberhermin]

So the fact that I was a less impulsive teen terrified of risk was connected to my misery struggling at school... Because I could not experience the sensation of reward or learn as quickly?

[robertklund]

That isn't the only bodily change a person experiences in life; there is the second puberty when he/she gets older.

[simpleq]

Great video, I come back to it every half year to remember the content.

[theboombody]

I hated being a teenager and was glad to be grown up. Now my poor kid is a teenager and I feel bad for him. I'll do my best to try to get him through it. His teenage years are rougher than mine were.

[robertklund]

If the human brain doesn't reach full development until age 25, why have parents, teachers, police officers and military
personal and others put in positions of authority?

[bns]

Clicked on this cuz my friend said Kirk and Spock were mentioned and stayed to learn

[robertklund]

The irony of it all is just as the human brain reaches full development at age 25, it reaches a plateau and then
starts regressing at age 30.

[NICKZIZI]

Great content. I agree with you on creating opportunities for teens to take a healthier risk. As a youth motivational speaker and teacher, I encourage our teens to step out of their comfort zones. It is interesting to see how excited they are to try new things. Adults, on the other hand, have more reservation.

[justme-niqn]

Butterflies like brighter objects, hence why it chose the pink one. I’m 12 and I got that within 10 seconds of hearing the question

[claytonbrownenglishandhist]

I find it interesting that the last clip of Spock and Kirk is one where Spock is effectively erasing Kirk's memory--the cognitive overcoming the emotional

[C_U_R_I_E_L]

And people say "evil" does not exist. . . . It sure exists, in the seven deadly sins. Deadly for a reason. Greed, Lust, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Gluttony, Pride. That evil woman had them all, it consumed her soul.

[wilsons]

i watched the institue of human anatomy vid and certainly it makes sense that countless number of inventions and discoveries can als o be attributed to risktakers for the benefit of all mankind. it makes sense why the prefrontal cortex develops late. we dont need a cap on our growing brain and sadly most important early endeavors like schooling sometimes brings more hurdle that stunts early humans experience to do more in a more controlled and more expressive and risk reward setting that is conducive to the personal growth of each human being early experience in this blue planet. Therefore the need of environment and safe caregivers and parents who both satiate their curiosity by letting them explore in a way that allow them to push off boundaries yet at the same time not let them self destruct works best but sadly thats only in a simulated environment but thats what we should achieve- perfect goals done imperfectly but no people are ignorant and just want best whats regressive and dumbs down the brain and helps kid dissociate or just turn off their curiosity and instinctive need to change. god forbid if they do something instinctively that is actually healthy but comes with risk. Somewhere out there, there are many instances of neighborhood, homes, school environment where good risk taking and gut instinct is suppressed to illogical undertakings that kids cant help themselves but to let it all out by doing things that actually damage them in the long run and thats not much of their fault. they want to fantasize or just run away from it all because god knows adults sucks on how to do things the way it feels intuitive and logical. no it has to be irrational.

[BadFurious]

0:56 Or the Heavy Weapons Guy
1:06 Or the Solider

[TheyCallMeNewb]

Your [wonderful] videos never come up in my feed. I must seek out your channel's main page to find them.

[alansun]

16 year olds can do driving under the condition they're working somewhere.