«Difficult age»: how the teenage brain changes

Imagine you are sleeping. Your father comes into the room, kisses you on the forehead and says: “Good morning, dear. What will you have for breakfast? «Oatmeal,» you reply. Half an hour later you come to the kitchen — a steaming bowl of oatmeal is waiting for you on the table.

This is what childhood looked like for many: parents and other close people took care of us. But at some point we began to move away from them. The brain has changed, and we decided to give up the oatmeal prepared by our parents.

That’s what people need adolescence for. Nature changes the child’s brain so that its owner does not stay with his mother. As a result of the changes, the child moves away from the usual way of life and goes towards a new, unfamiliar and potentially dangerous. The relationship of a teenager with people is also changing. He moves away from his parents and closer to his peers.

The teenage brain goes through many changes that affect relationships with people. Here are a few of the most significant.

Escalation of emotions

As adolescence approaches, a child’s emotions become more intense. Teenagers often slam doors and sulk at their parents — there is a scientific explanation for this. Emotions are formed by the interaction of the limbic system and the brain stem. In the body of a teenager, these structures have a stronger influence on decision-making than in children and adults.

One study placed children, adolescents, and adults on a CT scanner. Participants in the experiment were shown photographs of people with a neutral facial expression or with pronounced emotions. Scientists have recorded a stronger emotional response in adolescents and a moderate response among adults and children.

Also, teenagers tend to see emotions in other people, even if they are not there. When teenagers were shown pictures with neutral emotions on their faces in a CT scanner, their cerebellar amygdala was activated. It seemed to teenagers that the person in the photo was experiencing negative emotions.

Due to the heightened emotionality of adolescents, it is easy to piss off or upset. Their mood changes frequently. They don’t understand themselves well. One guy once said to me: “Explain this to adults. Now we feel like this, but in a minute it will be different. Let the grown-ups stay away from us. Let us feel what we feel.» This is good advice. If adults press on teenagers and try to punish them for being too emotional, this only alienates them.

The attraction of risk

We have the neurotransmitter dopamine in our body. It is involved in the joint work of the brain stem, limbic lobe and cerebral cortex. Dopamine is what makes us feel good when we receive a reward.

Compared to children and adults, adolescents have lower baseline levels of dopamine but higher spikes in dopamine production. Novelty is one of the main triggers that triggers the release of dopamine. Due to this, teenagers are attracted to everything new. Nature has created a system that makes you strive for change and novelty, pushes you towards the unfamiliar and uncertain. One day this will force the young man to leave the parental home.

When dopamine levels drop, teens get bored. Everything old and good depresses them. This should be taken into account when organizing the educational process in middle and high school. Schools and teachers should use teenagers’ inner drive for novelty to keep them interested.

Another feature of the teenage brain is a change in the process of assessing what is good and what is bad. The teenage brain focuses on the positive and exciting aspects of a decision, while ignoring the negative and potentially dangerous consequences.

Psychologists call this type of thinking hyperrational. It forces teens to drive fast, take drugs and have dangerous sex. Parents are not in vain worried about the safety of their children. Adolescence is a really dangerous period.

Closeness with peers

The attachments of all mammals are based on children’s needs for care and security. In the first years of a person’s life, affection is very important: the baby will not survive without the care of adults. But as we grow older, attachment does not disappear, it changes its focus. Teenagers rely less on parents and more on peers.

During adolescence, we actively connect with friends — this is a natural process. It is on friends that we will rely when we leave our parental home. In the wild, mammals rarely survive alone. Interaction with peers for teenagers is perceived as a matter of survival. Parents fade into the background and feel rejected.

The main disadvantage of this change is that being close to a group of teenagers or even one person seems to be a matter of life and death. Millions of years of evolution make a teenager think: «If I don’t have at least one close friend, I’ll die.» When parents forbid a teenager to go to a party, it becomes a tragedy for him.

Adults think it’s stupid. In fact, stupidity has nothing to do with it, it is so laid down by evolution. When you forbid your daughter from going to a party or refuse to buy new shoes, think about how important it is for her. This will help strengthen the relationship.

Conclusions for adults

Adults should respect the process of growing children. Teenagers are captured by emotions and forced to get out from under the parental wing, get closer to their peers and go towards the new. Thus, the brain helps teenagers find «oatmeal» outside the parental home. The teenager begins to take care of himself and look for other people who will take care of him.

This does not mean that there is no place in the life of a teenager for parents and other adults. The child’s brain changes, and this affects his relationship with others. It is important for parents to accept that their role in a child’s life is also changing. Adults should think about what they can learn from teenagers.

How many adults have remained true to the principles of adolescence, doing what they love? Who remained socially active, retained close friends? Who keeps trying new things and doesn’t get attached to the old, loading their brain with creative exploration?

Neuroscientists have found that the brain is constantly growing. They call this property neuroplasticity. Emotional outbursts, love, social engagement, friendship, novelty, and creativity stimulate brain growth and keep it youthful. All these are qualities inherent in adolescence.

Keep this in mind when you feel like taunting a teenager for their behavior or using the word «teen» in a derogatory manner. Do not make fun of their emotionality and rebelliousness, it is better to be a little teenager yourself. Research suggests this is what we need to keep our minds sharp and young.