Brain Development During Adolescence
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Adolescence is the phase of life between late childhood and adulthood. Typically, adolescents seek diversion, new experiences, and strong emotions, sometimes putting their health at serious risk. In Germany, for example, 62% of all deaths among persons aged 15 to 20 are due to traumatic injuries. Neuroscientific explanations have been proposed for typical adolescent behavior; with these explanations in mind, one can derive appropriate ways of dealing with adolescents. METHOD: We selectively review pertinent articles retrieved from the PubMed database about the structural and functional development of the brain in adolescence. RESULTS: New findings in developmental psychology and neuroscience reveal that a fundamental reorganization of the brain takes place in adolescence. In postnatal brain development, the maximum density of gray matter is reached first in the primary sensorimotor cortex, and the prefrontal cortex matures last. Subcortical brain areas, especially the limbic system and the reward system, develop earlier, so that there is an imbalance during adolescence between the more mature subcortical areas and less mature prefrontal areas. This may account for typical adolescent behavior patterns, including risk-taking. CONCLUSION: The high plasticity of the adolescent brain permits environmental influences to exert particularly strong effects on cortical circuitry. While this makes intellectual and emotional development possible, it also opens the door to potentially harmful influences.
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In particularly emotionally charged situations, such as in the presence of other young people or when there is a possibility of reward, the probability increases that these factors influence adolescents' behaviors more than rationality.
“Así, en situaciones que son particularmente cargadas emocionalmente (p.ej., en presencia de otros jóvenes o cuando existe posibilidad de una recompensa), aumenta la probabilidad de que estas influyan en sus conductas más que la racionalidad8,9,20 .”
From Adolescent psychosocial development (2015) · cites this paper as [8]
The increased reward or sensation seeking in adolescence would be a product of earlier maturation of the socioemotional brain system than of the cognitive control system, with the result that under emotional arousal the former exceeds the regulatory capacity of the latter, which is still relatively immature.
“Ello sería producto de la maduración más temprana del sistema cerebral socioemocional que del sistema de control cognitivo, con el resultado de que, en condiciones de excitación emocional, el primero sobrepasa la capacidad regulatoria del segundo (todavía relativamente inmaduro).”
From Adolescent psychosocial development (2015) · cites this paper as [8]
In particularly emotionally charged situations, such as in the presence of other young people or when there is a possibility of reward, the probability increases that these factors influence adolescents' behaviors more than rationality.
“Así, en situaciones que son particularmente cargadas emocionalmente (p.ej., en presencia de otros jóvenes o cuando existe posibilidad de una recompensa), aumenta la probabilidad de que estas influyan en sus conductas más que la racionalidad8,9,20 .”
From Adolescent psychosocial development (2015) · cites this paper as [9]
In D.'s case, his parents' divorce occurred right at the start of adolescence (13), when the brain is at a permeable state and the sense of identity starts to consolidate.
“in D.'s case it occurred right in at the start of adolescence (13), when the brain is at a permeable state and the sense of identity starts to consolidate (Konrad et al., 2013)”
From THE EFFICACY OF A COMPASSION, ACCEPTANCE AND MINDFULNESS-BASED PILOT INTERVENTION FOR ADOLESCENTS’ TEST ANXIETY: A CASE STUDY USING THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM (2023) · cites this paper as Konrad et al., 2013
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References 58 · Cited by 323
Research works printed but not linked: 23
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- Authors
- Konrad, K., Firk, C., & Uhlhaas, P. J.
- Affiliations
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- Venue
- Deutsches Ärzteblatt international
- Publisher
- Deutscher Arzte-Verlag GmbH
- Published
- 2013-06-21
- Volume
- 110
- Issue
- 25
- Pages
- 425-31
- ISSN
- 1866-0452 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3705203
- OpenAlex
- W1579693295
- Cited by
- 323
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- de
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Deutsches Ärzteblatt international (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Health and Behaviors
- Keywords
- adolescent brain development, prefrontal cortex maturation, gray matter density, limbic system, reward systems, risk-taking, adolescent behavior, neuroplasticity, cortical circuits
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Aging, Brain, Female, Humans, Male, Models, Neurological, Neuronal Plasticity, Reward, Risk-Taking
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