Transcript Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent

Why Do They Act That Way?
A Survival Guide to the
Adolescent Brain for You and
Your Teen
By David Walsh, Ph.D.
A
Little
Brain Science
NEURONS (Tế Bào Thần Kinh)
The Building Blocks of the brain
A baby arrives in this world with about
100 billion neurons. Each of which has
an average of 10 thousand branches
The number of possible neural
configurations is said to possibly
exceed the number of atoms(Nguyên
tử) in the known universe!
At birth only about 17 percent
of our neurons are linked …
… The rest are linked by …
Genetics (hardware) & Experiences (software)
Our ability to make
sounds (hard wiring =
genetics)
The language we will
speak (soft wiring =
experiences)
LEFT SIDE :
Analytical Math, speaking, writing, reading
RIGHT SIDE :
Intuitive, Visual processing, abstract thinking, listening to
music, daydreaming, imagining a beautiful sunset
5 Processes (pillars) of Brain
Development
• Use it or lose it
• Blossoming and pruning
• Window of opportunity
• Window of sensitivity
• Myelination (insulation of nerve cells)
The neurons that fire together wire
together.
Blossoming and Pruning
• Each region has different function and
timetable
•Process:
–Over production of dendrites (blossoming)
–Life experiences causes neurons to fire and
connect branches
–Branches that don’t fire shrink, wither and
disappear (pruning) –use it or lose it
MRI Brain Scanning Technology
•Has shown us that one phase of
blossoming pruning winds down (in the
‘terrible twos’)
•Second wave corresponds with
adolescence
•Blossoming peaks in PFC at age 11 or 12
•Pruning process continues throughout
adolescence