Teenagers cannot concentrate because their brains are undeveloped
June 2nd, 2010 in Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research from the UK has found that teenagers and
young adults find it hard to concentrate because their brains are more
similar to those of much younger children than those of mature adults,
with more grey matter but lower efficiency. The findings suggest the
brain is not fully developed until people reach their late twenties or
even early thirties, which is much later than previously thought.
The researchers, Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and colleagues, from the
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University College London,
used MRI scans to monitor the activity in the brains of 200 volunteers
aged between seven and 27 as they tried to run through the alphabet
mentally or with letters on a computer screen while simultaneously
deciding whether or not the letters contained a curve. At the same time
they had to ignore distracting letters without curves.
The results found the human brain continues to develop longer into the
teenage years and adulthood than previously believed, with the
abilities of the volunteers improving with their age. In the teenagers
an unexpectedly high level of activity was observed in the part of the
brain known as the prefrontal cortex, which is a region known to be
involved in multi-tasking and making decisions. This suggests their
brains had to work harder to process the information. The same type of
activity was known to occur in the prefrontal cortex in the brains of
young children, but was not expected to continue into the teens and
beyond.
The researchers said the results indicate the brains of teenagers are
working less efficiently than adults brains. Dr Blakemore said the
part of the brain needed to solve the problem is still developing in
the adolescents, and the activity in the prefrontal cortex indicates
they are doing a lot of needless work with "chaotic thought patterns".
Blakemore said the research shows there is simply too much going on in
the brains of adolescents for them to concentrate on the task at hand.
That means resources and energy in the brain are wasted, which has a
negative effect on decision-making.
The brains grey matter consists of the cell bodies and connections
that carry messages within the brain. As we age, the amount of grey
matter decreases, which Blakemore said means neural transmissions
travel more efficiently in adults, and the brain works more effectively.
The research paper is due to be published today in the Journal of Neuroscience.
More information: Iroise Dumontheil, et al., Development of the
Selection and Manipulation of Self-Generated Thoughts in Adolescence,
The Journal of Neuroscience, June 2, 2010, 30(22):7664-7671;
doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1375-10.2010
2010 PhysOrg.com
"Teenagers cannot concentrate because their brains are undeveloped." June 2nd, 2010.
http://www.physorg.com/news194674084.html
June 2nd, 2010 in Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research from the UK has found that teenagers and
young adults find it hard to concentrate because their brains are more
similar to those of much younger children than those of mature adults,
with more grey matter but lower efficiency. The findings suggest the
brain is not fully developed until people reach their late twenties or
even early thirties, which is much later than previously thought.
The researchers, Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and colleagues, from the
Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University College London,
used MRI scans to monitor the activity in the brains of 200 volunteers
aged between seven and 27 as they tried to run through the alphabet
mentally or with letters on a computer screen while simultaneously
deciding whether or not the letters contained a curve. At the same time
they had to ignore distracting letters without curves.
The results found the human brain continues to develop longer into the
teenage years and adulthood than previously believed, with the
abilities of the volunteers improving with their age. In the teenagers
an unexpectedly high level of activity was observed in the part of the
brain known as the prefrontal cortex, which is a region known to be
involved in multi-tasking and making decisions. This suggests their
brains had to work harder to process the information. The same type of
activity was known to occur in the prefrontal cortex in the brains of
young children, but was not expected to continue into the teens and
beyond.
The researchers said the results indicate the brains of teenagers are
working less efficiently than adults brains. Dr Blakemore said the
part of the brain needed to solve the problem is still developing in
the adolescents, and the activity in the prefrontal cortex indicates
they are doing a lot of needless work with "chaotic thought patterns".
Blakemore said the research shows there is simply too much going on in
the brains of adolescents for them to concentrate on the task at hand.
That means resources and energy in the brain are wasted, which has a
negative effect on decision-making.
The brains grey matter consists of the cell bodies and connections
that carry messages within the brain. As we age, the amount of grey
matter decreases, which Blakemore said means neural transmissions
travel more efficiently in adults, and the brain works more effectively.
The research paper is due to be published today in the Journal of Neuroscience.
More information: Iroise Dumontheil, et al., Development of the
Selection and Manipulation of Self-Generated Thoughts in Adolescence,
The Journal of Neuroscience, June 2, 2010, 30(22):7664-7671;
doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1375-10.2010
2010 PhysOrg.com"Teenagers cannot concentrate because their brains are undeveloped." June 2nd, 2010.
http://www.physorg.com/news194674084.html
