Are teens to blame for risky behavior?

Talking about the brain this week really got me thinking.... In class we discussed the specific parts of the brain and their functions. The question was then raised if the cause of risky and impulsive teenage behavior was due to the fact that our brains aren't fully developed yet. I had heard this before but was interested in how exactly the adult and teenage brains differed and also if researchers believed teens should not be held responsible for their risky behavior.

Science Daily had an article last week discussing teen brains and the root of risky behavior. According to the article, researchers at the University of Pennsylania studied the neuron behavior in adolescent rats which they believe could reveal new information about teens and their decision making. The article says that after both adult and adolescent rats received stimulation in the reward centers in the brain, the adolescent rats acted with a greater sense of frenzy and excitement. Scientists believe this could explain why teens are more prone to rash behavior, addiction, and mental diseases than adults are. Although the adult rats processed their rewards with excitement, they also displayed control.

The orbitofrontal cortex is the brain region that weighs payoffs and punishment when planning and making decisions. The scientists believe that this is the part fo the region that develops slower than other regions of the brain. This slowness to develop makes teens vulnerable to risky behavior. Although this is the first study to record and compare the neuron activity in adult and adolescent brain, other research has been done on the developing teenage brain as shown in this video.

As the video shows, teen brains are at a crossroads in terms of development. They are stuck right in the middle of outgrowing the brain of a child and growing into the brain of an adult. Teens also have the greatest capactiy for learning than they will ever have again in their lives... depressing. But the researcher also makes it clear that at this stage, teens also make some not so smart decisions due to the developing brain meaning we can't be held completely responsible for our crazy teenage behavior... at least there's one upside :)