Adolescent Brain Development - the Youth Advocacy Division

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SCOTT, ELIZABETH, J.D. Professor – University of Virginia Law School Phone: (434) 924-3217 Fax: (804) 924-7536 Email: es@virginia.edu Website: http://www.law.virginia.edu/lawweb/faculty.nsf/FHPbI/5417 Co-director and founder of the Center for Children, Families and Law and law professor at University of Virginia who specializes in juvenile and family law. Author of “Blaming Youth,” (2002), an essay which uses scientific research to demonstrate why juveniles are not as culpable from a legal perspective. SOWELL, ELIZABETH, Ph.D. Professor – UCLA Medical School, Neurology Dept. Phone: (310) 206-2101 Fax: Email: esowell@loni.ucla.edu Website: http://www.neurology.ucla.edu/faculty/SowellE.htm Led studies of brain development from adolescence to adulthood. Found that during adolescence, the frontal lobe of the brain (the part that relates to the maturation of cognitive processing and other ‘executive functions), undergoes the most significant changes. The study found that the frontal lobe was the last part of the brain to fully develop, and thus while adolescent brains may be similar to adults, they differ in their abilities to reason. TOGA, ARTHUR, Ph.D. Professor – UCLA Medical School, Neurology Dept. Phone: (310)206-2101 Fax: (310)206-5518 Email: toga@loni.ucla.edu Website: http://www.neurology.ucla.edu/faculty/TogaA.htm Neuroimaging specialist who worked with NIMH to render MRI scans into a 4-D time-lapse model demonstrating the evolution of a child’s brain into adulthood (the 4 th dimension is rate of change). The model demonstrates the growth and movement of different brain matter as children grow into adults. YURGELUN-TODD, DEBORAH Ph.D. Neuropsychologist – McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA Phone: (617)-855-3238 Website: Fax: Email: Performed a study comparing what parts of the brain adolescents and adults use when responding to emotions. The study concluded that adolescents tend to rely on the part of the brain responsible for “gut reactions,” in contrast to adults who more often use the part of the brain responsible for more rational (not based on emotional responses) decisions.
Limbic System Adolescent Brain Development Understanding the Parts of the Brain Amygdala The Adult Brain The Frontal Lobe, often called the “command center” of the brain, is the part of the brain that controls the decision making process for adults, including long-term planning, riskassessment, impulse control, and other behaviors associated with criminal culpability. It is also one of the last parts of the brain to fully mature (in the early 20s). 1 This late maturation process suggests that adolescents are not as capable as adults of weighing long-term consequences, and evaluating risk-assessment. The Prefrontal Cortex is responsible for cognitive processing, problem solving, and emotional control in adults. There is a stark contrast in brain maturation (Myelination) between youth aged 12-16 and young adults (23-30), especially in the Frontal Lobe and Prefrontal Cortex. 2 This difference suggests that adults are more capable of controlling their emotions and making more rational decisions than adolescents. The Adolescent Brain The Limbic System regulates hormonal processing, which is overly active in adolescents, 3 and also is responsible for handling emotional reactions. Adolescents tend to use their Limbic System more often in the decision making process, since their Frontal Lobes are not fully developed, which results in adolescents making more decisions based on emotional reactions rather than reasoning, weighing of long term consequences, or planning. 4 The Amygdala, part of the Limbic System, is responsible for impulse reactions, emotional reactions, fear, and is also used in the decision-making process of adolescents. Developing adolescents tend to use their Amygdala when responding to other people’s emotions, yielding more reactionary, less reasoned perceptions of situations than adults. 5 Juvenile Defense Network ~ Lawyers Helping Lawyers Helping Kids
Page 1 and 2: Adolescent Brain Development A Yout
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