Jean M Clinton B.Mus MD FRCP(C)
McMaster University and Children’s Hospital
Offord Centre for Child Studies
Council for Early Child Development
Kids Today
"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners,
contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders
and love chatter in place
of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants
of their households. They no longer rise when elders
enter the room. They
contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble
up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize
their teachers."
PLATO
Adolescents: Why DO they do the things they do?
Defining Adolescence
 The period between the onset of sexual
maturation & the attainment of adult roles
& responsibilities
 Involves psychological, social, legal, and
biological changes
 The transition from:

“child” status (requires adult monitoring) to

“adult” status (self-responsibility for behavior)
Key Messages
‘UNDER CONSTRUCTION”

Teens need MORE of our time, not less.

What we THINK, affects how we FEEL, affects
how we ACT (TAFFY)

The majority of adolescents do well YET
03-013
THE BRAIN FAIRY
The Hostage Brain , Bruce S. McEwen and Harold M. Schmeck, Jr., 1994.
Adolescent Tasks
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Peer group formation
Increased academic demands
Pressure to be self-reliant (especially in two
income families)
Increased responsibility
Money
Romantic desires
Identity formation
What Changes in Adolescence?
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Memory and planning
Responsibility
Self-regulation or control of emotion
Mood Lability
Risk taking
Sleep
Why do we care about brain?
YOU ARE YOUR BRAIN.


BUT- Your brain is not just produced by your
genes
Your brain is sculpted by a lifetime of
experiences.
Dr Robin Gibb U of Lethbridge
Anatomy of a teenager’s brain
“The nerve cell, or neuron
resembles a miniature tree…”
(p. 21)
Diamond & Hopson, 1998
SYNAPSE
What Have We Learnt?
•
Adolescence is a period of profound brain
maturation.
•
We thought brain development was complete by
adolescence
•
We now know… maturation is not complete until
about age 25!
UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
Source: Giedd, 2004.
Rate of Change
Brain Development
Source: Tapert & Schweinsburg, 2005
Brain Development
When the pruning is complete, the brain is faster and
more efficient.
But… during the pruning
process, the brain is
not functioning optimally.
Source: Giedd, 2004.
Brain Development
Maturation Occurs from
Back to Front of the Brain
Images of Brain Development in
Healthy Youth (Ages 5 – 20)
Blue represents maturing of brain
areas
Source: Gogtay, Giedd, et al., 2004.
Copyright © 2004 The National Academy of Sciences, USA
Gogtay, N., Giedd, J.N., et al. (2004)
Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 101 (21), 8174 – 8179
The Frontal Lobes
“Executive Functions”
Governing emotions
 Judgment
 Planning
 Organization
 Problem Solving
 Impulse Inhibition
 Abstraction
 Analysis/synthesis
 Self-awareness*
 Self-concept*
 Identity
and
 Spirituality

*Self- “everything”
Williamsgroup, 2003: Please credit Protecting You/Protecting Me (PY/PM)
AREAS UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
Prefrontal Cortex

Responsible for planning , strategies (cognitive
flexibility).

Allows one to solve problems.

DEVELOPED frontal cortex allows one to
regulate emotions, solve problems effectively and
plan behaviour.
Frontal Lobes for Behavioral Control,
Birth - 21
Age
The Brain Bonsai
Overproduction and Exuberance
Pruning
02-066
The Fear Response
Visual Thalamus
Visual
Cortex
Amygdala
Scientific American
The Hidden Mind, 2002, Volume 12, Number 1
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Anterior Cingulate Cortex
03-002
Emotional
Stimulus
Amygdala
+
+
Hippocampus
Hypothalamus
-
-
PVN
Cortisol
Cortisol
CRF
PIT
ACTH
Adrenal
Cortex
LeDoux, Synaptic Self
Amygdala and Hippocampus
00-058
Cortisol can be bad for the brain
Hippocampus
high sterol levels cause loss of dendrites
and cell death
Frontal brain
attention deficits
WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET!
Fear
Contempt
Disgust
Surprise
Sadness
Anger
Happiness
What emotion do you see?
Adolescents use the Amydala (fight or flight response) rather than the Frontal Cortex
(used by older adults) to read emotions
Deborah Yurgelun Todd McLean Hospital Belmont, Mass (2004)
Limbic System for Birth - 21
Years
Age
Communication Gap
 Teens are more likely to misinterpret
facial expressions of emotion
 See anger when there isn’t anger
 Process in the amygdala
 May react quickly
“Emotional Brain”
Development
 Emotional brain dominates
 Prefrontal cortex is not ready to take charge
 Emotional brain seeks pleasure, in the form of
novelty, excitement, and risk
What Does This Mean in terms
of Behavior?
 Impulsiveness
 Mood changes
 Inadequate emotional control
 Seeks out risks
ACC The “Oops Centre”
Putting the brakes on, planning and regulating emotion
develops with the final development of the frontal lobe at
Around 20 -24
A fully pruned and sculpted frontal lobe HELPS (no guarantees) to resist the need to
buy the first clothes you see or impulsively blow up in anger at your parent
Made worse as group adolescent
brains amp-up the levels
Adolescents and Sleep
 Shift in Circadian (Biological Clock) to
preferring later bedtimes and rise-times
 Need for sleep increases at puberty
 Societal influences push teens toward
sleep delay
 Sleep deprivation common
GREATEST OPPORTUNITY…GREATEST VULNERABILITY
As the adolescent brain is reconfigured it is more
susceptible to long lasting damage of drugs, alcohol, and
negative experiences. Unfortunately, the brain is most
vulnerable at a time when they are most inclined to take
risks and to act impulsively…”
(Jay Giedd, NIH 2004)
Alcohol & Other Drugs
 Increase in dopamine which further
encourages risk taking
 Increase in depression and anxiety
 Can wound or damage brain
(more than in adults)
 Hinder brain storage of new
information
The Problem
Frontal Lobe Development
Autonomy
drivers license
Average age of first
sexual encounter in
Canada
The Cognitive Affective Balance
Early Adolescence
Early Adulthood
Ideally!
KEY: Not the overall balance that matters, it is the flexibility to shift when needed
Remember:
the emotional brain
is often in charge
in teens.
SCENARIOS

What we THINK….

Affects what we FEEL…

Affects how we ACT….
Provide Guidance and
Opportunities
 Teens need to use their “thinking brains”
for planning, analyzing, organizing,
problem solving, and making decisions
“ If
we think we are fragile and broken,
we will live a fragile, broken life. If we
believe we are strong and wise, we will
live with enthusiasm and courage. The
way we name ourselves colors the way
we live. Who we are is in our own eyes.
We must be careful how we name
ourselves.”
Wayne Muller
To see all individuals as “at promise”
rather than “at risk” is a fundamental
shift that means facilitating rather than
fixing, pointing to health rather than
dysfunction, turning away from limiting
labels and diagnosis to wholeness and
well-being.
Key Messages
‘UNDER CONSTRUCTION”



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Teens need MORE of our time, not less.
Parents are hugely important
Their ACC picks up more than you emit…
be genuine
Dialogue works better than interview.

What we THINK, affects how we FEEL, affects how
we ACT (TAFFY)

The majority of adolescents do well.
In Closing:
Brain development continues throughout life.
The “emotional” brain shows earlier development than
the “thinking” brain
The “emotional” brain seeks novelty and stimulation,
sometimes met by risky behavior
Risks can be healthy and unhealthy
Adults can and should provide guidance, opportunities,
and environments that promote development of the
“thinking” brain
THRIVE

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The Canadian Centre for Positive Youth
Development
1-800-265 2680
 www.thrivecanada.ca
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The Search Institute
www.search-institute.org
Books and Resources
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The Primal Teen: What the new discoveries about the teenage brain tell us about our
kids. Barbara Strauch New York Anchor Books 2003
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“Why do they act that way.” A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for you and
Your Teen . David Walsh PhD New York Free Press 2004
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Teen Brain, Teen Mind. What Parents Need to Know to Survive the Adolescent Years
. Dr Ron Clavier Toronto Key Porter Books 2005
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PBS Frontline (2003). Inside the Teenage Brain. www.pbs.org
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Giedd, J. (1999). Brain development during childhood and adolescence: A longitudinal
MRI study. Nature Neuroscience, 2(10), 861-63
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Carskadon, M. (2000). Adolescent sleep needs and patterns: Research report and
resource guide. Washington, DC: National Sleep Foundation.
www.sleepfoundation.org