What Were You Thinking?
What were you thinking?
How many of us have asked (okay, sometimes yelled) at our teen, “What were you thinking?” after another of their “stupid stunts?” That’s just the problem, they’re not thinking! Not only that – they can’t – or at least not the way an adult might.
Thanks to new brain imaging technologies, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), DTI (diffusion tensor imaging), PET (positron emission tomography), scientists and medical professionals now know that the brain is not fully developed before adolescence as previously thought. One area – the prefrontal cortex – is still under development into early adulthood (one’s early 20’s). This area involves cause-and-effect types of thinking skills. The prefrontal cortex is also developing connections to other parts of the brain, such as the amygdala, which carries “stop” or “hit the brakes” messages,(1) during this developmental stage.
Additionally, adolescents do not have the luxury of hindsight. They simply have not lived long enough nor made enough mistakes (nor good decisions, for that matter – the ones without mom or dad’s “help”) in order to observe the outcomes – the cause and the effect of their decisions.
For these reasons, decision-making can be especially problematic for those under age 21 when it comes to alcohol use.
Because alcohol activates neurotransmitters/neurons in the pleasure/reward center (inside the Limbic System), the earlier and more frequently the reward center is flooded with alcohol (or drugs), the greater the chances of addiction.(2) Why? Because, in the young brain, neurons that are frequently fired survive, while less frequently fired neurons tend to get “pruned” or die off.(3) (The scientific basis for the idea of “use it or lose it.”) Further, memory cues involving the use and pleasures of alcohol are also repeatedly reinforced during this critical brain development stage.(4)
Additionally, teens and those under age 21, whose brains are completing this last stage of brain development, can get drunk on fewer drinks than an adult. Similarly, they can become addicted in a far shorter period of time than an adult. In fact, late adolescence (or the years until the brain is fully matured) is the peak time for developing an addiction to alcohol.(5)
Click here to view HBO’s “Five Thinks to Know About Adolescents’ Brain Development and Use,” a program done in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the NIAAA (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) and the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) It is full of information that can help if you are grappling with a teen or young adult’s alcohol use. Now is the time to start talking with them — not threatening or pleading or judging — just sharing information, and this site is an excellent place to start the conversation.
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©2008 Lisa Frederiksen
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(1) Crowley, Thomas, M.D. and Elizabeth Whitmore, Ph.D., “Five Things to Know About Adolescents’ Brain Development and Use,” HBO.com/addiction: March 2007, <http://www.hbo.com/addiction/adolescent_addiction/21_adolescent_brain_development.html>
(2) Hutt, Jim, Ph.D.,”Alcohol, Drugs & Adolescent Brain Development,” M-A High School PTA, F.A.C.T.S. (Focus on Alcohol, Committee for Teen Safety).
(3) Ibid
(4) Ibid
(5) Crowley, Thomas, M.D. and Elizabeth Whitmore, Ph.D., “Five Things to Know About Adolescents’ Brain Development and Use,” HBO.com/addiction: March 2007, <http://www.hbo.com/addiction/adolescent_addiction/21_adolescent_brain_development.html>
Lisa Frederiksen
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[…] LisaF wrote a fantastic post today on “What Were You Thinking?”Here’s ONLY a quick extractBecause alcohol activates neurotransmitters/neurons in the pleasure/reward center (inside the Limbic System), the earlier and more frequently the reward center is flooded with alcohol (or drugs), the greater the chances of addiction. … […]