Dec 4 2013

1. “Adolescence is defined as the period of life that starts with the biological, hormonal and physical changes of puberty and ends at the age at which an individual attains a stable, independent role in society.”

2.  The gray matter of the anterior part of the frontal lobe that is highly developed in humans and plays a role in the regulation of complex cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. 

3.  Synaptic pruning refers to the process by which extra neurons and synaptic connections are eliminated in order to increase the efficiency of neuronal transmissions.

4. The term 'social brain' refers to the network of brain regions that are involved in understanding others.

5. In the experiment the teenage and adult results were almost identical compared to the children of a younger age.

6. Blakemore is trying to understand phenomena such as risk-taking, which activates the limbic system, hypersensitive in adolescents, while the prefrontal cortex, which moderates risk-taking, is still developing in adolescence.

7. I see my own adolescence as an opportunity rather than a problem because I'm not nearly as risky as others in my age group.

8. For all educators out there stop acting like you weren't once a teen and be more understanding of whats going on in our brain maybe then everything would go a lot smoothly in classrooms or at all when dealing with adolescence.