The teenage years are an essential part of the transition from the dependent child to a responsible adult. Before these years our needs are met by our primary caregiver. This period of change is often referred to as adolescence. Some children as young as eight can start this process but more commonly it begins between 11-14 years old. Most of the time we associate this period of brain development with being a teenager but interestingly it continues into the mid-twenties. For most of us our brain has fully matured by the time we are in late twenties.
Lazy, rude, reckless, badly behaved… just some adjectives described teenagers. Is this fair to put such a staple on them? Often this is a stereotypical approach, leading to unfair judgement. Of course, if we don’t understand what changes the young person is going through it may seem like the teenager is all those things.
There are in fact lots of great things about the teenage brain that we can forget to appreciate. They are resilient, adaptive and open to creativity.
So, what actually happens to our brains when we are teenagers? Think of this as brain remodelling. This happens in two stages, the first being from the ages of 11-13 – this is called ‘differentiation’- how the brain specialise. Children absorb all the information they can about the world building neuron networks – neurons are cells in the brain that pass signals to each other across the network to help us process information. It is during adolescence that we begin to ‘prune’ away some of the basic networks that we don’t really need any more and focus more on the things that are important and of course useful to us as individuals.
The second stage of remodelling is the ‘linkage’ stage. This happens later in adolescence and helps to increase the effectiveness of communications between the neuron networks that have been differentiated. When ‘myelin’ is formed this happens. Myelin is a healthy sheath that covers the connected neuron pathways and allows them to communicate 3000 times more effectively – much faster and more coordinated than before. The remodelling that happens throughout adolescence starts with the oldest part of the brain, meaning that the last part of the brain to be remodelled is our prefrontal cortex – the part that may still continue to develop in our 20s. This results in the limbic and brainstem system (old parts of the brain) having a greater input during our teenage years compared to childhood or adulthood.
So, with the changes in the limbic system along with the release of different hormones we can see lots of changes:
-Sleep
-Growth
-Evaluation and Motivation
-Relationships and attachment
-Identity formation
-Emotional Intensity
A closer look at these changes?
Sleep
A child going to sleep around 7pm and waking up around 7am… no longer. As caregivers we can forget that melatonin (a hormone released to regulate the body’s sleep cycle) is produced later in the day for teenagers – compared to adults and children. Melatonin is usually produced in response to darkness. This is the reason why teenagers often go to sleep much later and find it hard to get up in the morning. Often confused with the person wanting to stay up late and being somewhat lazy in the mornings. Because they are going to sleep later, but usually still need to get up for school, teenagers often don’t get the 8-10 hours of sleep they need. The growth hormone secretes while young people sleep – vital to grow and prosper – a reminder that this is not laziness as such.
Growth
During adolescence, the brain releases gonadotropin-releasing hormone which travels to the pituitary gland in the brain. The pituitary gland then releases two more hormones luteinizing hormone (LH) and Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). These hormones work in different areas depending on whether you are male or female. This stimulates the release of testosterone and oestrogen which matures /develops the sex organs. Another set of hormones, ‘adrenarche’, causing the growth of pubic hair (and facial hair in men) as well as changes in the skin which can cause acne. The third change is the release of growth hormone which contributes to physical growth during adolescence, including changes in the shape and size of the body and bone structure.
So in short, there is a HUGE amount going on in our brain, body and social life as a teenager. It can be really overwhelming for a lot of young people, but it is also a natural part of development. It is important that caregivers and professionals can support young people to understand these changes and see the potential challenges as well as the benefits.
Evaluation and Motivation
The motivation, entertainment and reward system is heightened in teenagers. Information is evaluated differently in the teenage brain. They experience hyper-rational thinking which means when they evaluate information they over-emphasise the pros of a situation and minimise the risk. They therefore have a greater drive to seek reward regardless of the risks.
On top of this, teenagers have a lower baseline level of dopamine compared to adults and children, but a higher release level. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that connects the motivation and reward system in the brain, so when it’s low we seek new experiences and thrills, and when it is released we have a sense of euphoria.
Teenagers can therefore feel more irritable, restless and bored when dopamine levels are low, but also a greater sense of anticipation, satisfaction and euphoria compared to children and adults. Healthy risk-taking can become unhealthy and therefore dangerous. When teenagers are not being stimulated they can feel bored and irritated. On the other hand, there is such a thing as healthy risk taking – this is important for developing independence and self-identity. New experiences can allow teenagers to be creative and even find new hobbies – for example starting a new sport.
Relationships and attachments
The limbic system deals with emotions, memory and stress – which plays an important role in attachment. If we are seen, soothed and safe with our caregiver we can have a secure attachment. A blueprint for future relationships is formed for future relationships. An animal in the wild who is an adolescent is at greater risk if they are not part of a group. Humans have evolved in a similar fashion – we have not outgrown our own adolescent need to be part of a peer group. The feelings teenagers have around their peer group can be intense, for example if you hear them saying ‘I’ll die’ if I don’t go to the party… although a figure of speech it also explains the intensity of the feeling.
It is important for the teenager to gain some independence and life skills that will help them cope well as an adult. But, relying too much on peer-peer relationships and group belonging can be negative and lead to risk taking behaviour. Caregivers can feel isolated and worried and this can cause conflict at home.
Identity formations
Memory and emotions are closely linked. The hippocampus and amygdala are both parts of the limbic system involved in memory. The hippocampus forms episodic memory which can be stored as long-term memories. During adolescent we begin to use emotion and memory to form a sense of self and identity.
The identity forming is an important shift into adulthood – experimenting can help one find out what they like or don’t like. This process is not always easy as there is a shift in the caregiver-child relationship.
Emotional Intensity
The amygdala is a small part of the limbic system which detects emotions. It can link sensory information to emotional responses. During adolescence, the amygdala is more active than in childhood or adulthood. Therefore, we experience emotions more intensely, and might even attribute specific emotions to neutral stimuli. For example, teenagers might interpret a neutral question such as “did you go to football after school?” as a threat to their independence or as a criticism of their actions and sense emotions such as disappointment or frustration that the adult is not exhibiting in reality. An adult may see a teenager’s response as disproportionally emotional, when in fact the teenage brain just interprets information differently. Because the thinking brain is not fully developed, teenagers rely on their emotion brain which reacts quickly, instinctively and emotionally without taking time to think or consider the other person’s perspective. It is harder to make clear, rational decisions as a teenager. Through these emotions we find our passions which is wonderful but also emotions can be extremely overwhelming and teenagers can feel irritated and upset much more easily.
With all these changes it can be a very fragile time, mental illnesses can emerge. So many emotional changes felt all at once can be overwhelming.
