F A collaboration of Cornell University, University of Rochester, and the NYS Center for School Safety ACT for Youth Upstate Center of Excellence S and FINDINGS RESEARCH May 2002 Research now supports what parents have long suspected—that the teenager’s brain is different than the adult brain. Recent research by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has found that the teen brain is not a finished product, but is a work in progress. Until recently most scientists believed that the major "wiring" of the brain was completed by as early as three years of age and that the brain was fully mature by the age of 10 or 12. New findings show that the greatest changes to the parts of the brain that are responsible for functions such as self-control, judgment, emotions, and organization occur between puberty and adult- hood. This may help to explain certain teenage behavior that adults can find mystifying, such as poor decision-making, recklessness, and emotional outbursts. The brain is still developing during the teen years Dr. Jay Giedd of the NIMH has reported that brain “maturation does not stop at age 10, but continues into the teen years and even into the 20’s. What is most surprising is that you get a second wave of overproduc- tion of gray matter, something that was thought to happen only in the first 18 months of life (Begley, 2000).” Following the overproduction of gray matter, the brain undergoes a process called “pruning” where connections among neurons in the brain that are not used wither away, while those that are used stay—the “use it or lose it” principle. It is thought that this pruning process makes the brain more efficient by strengthening the connections that are used most often, and eliminating the clutter of those that are not used at all. What does this mean for teens? According to Dr. Giedd, this is exciting news for teens. “…unlike infants whose brain activity is completely determined by their parents and en- vironment, the teens may actually be able to control how their own brains are wired and sculpted.” Kids who “exercise” their brains by learning to order their thoughts, under- stand abstract concepts, and control their impulses are laying the neural foundations that will serve them for the rest of their lives. "This argues for doing a lot of things as a teenager," says Dr. Giedd. "You are hard-wiring your brain in adolescence. Do you want to hard-wire it for sports and playing music and doing mathematics–or for lying on the couch in front of the television?" Adolescent Brain Development
Transcript
F A collaboration of Cornell University, University of Rochester, and the NYS Center for School Safety
ACT for Youth Upstate Center of Excellence
S and FINDINGS RESEARCH
May 2002
Research now supports what parents have long suspected—that the teenager’s brain is different than the adult brain. Recent research by scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has found that the teen brain is not a finished product, but is a work in progress. Until recently most scientists believed that the major "wiring" of the brain was completed by as early as three years of age and that the brain was fully mature by the age of 10 or 12. New findings show that the greatest changes to the parts of the brain that are responsible for functions such as self-control, judgment, emotions, and organization occur between puberty and adult-hood. This may help to explain certain teenage behavior that adults can find mystifying, such as poor decision-making, recklessness, and emotional outbursts. The brain is still developing during the teen years Dr. Jay Giedd of the NIMH has reported that brain “maturation does not stop at age 10, but continues into the teen years and even into the 20’s. What is most surprising is that you get a second wave of overproduc-tion of gray matter, something that was thought to happen only in the first 18 months of life (Begley, 2000).” Following the overproduction of gray matter, the brain undergoes a process called “pruning” where connections among neurons in the brain that are not used wither away, while those that are used stay—the “use it or lose it” principle. It is thought that this pruning process makes the brain more efficient by strengthening the connections that are used most often, and eliminating the clutter of those that are not used at all.
What does this mean for teens? According to Dr. Giedd, this is exciting news for teens. “…unlike infants whose brain activity is completely determined by their parents and en-vironment, the teens may actually be able to control how their own brains are wired and sculpted.” Kids who “exercise” their brains by learning to order their thoughts, under-stand abstract concepts, and control their impulses are laying the neural foundations that will serve them for the rest of their lives. "This argues for doing a lot of things as a teenager," says Dr. Giedd. "You are hard-wiring your brain in adolescence. Do you want to hard-wire it for sports and playing music and doing mathematics–or for lying on the couch in front of the television?"
Adolescent Brain Development
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Research on humans by Brown, et al. (2000) has shown the first concrete evidence that heavy, on-going alcohol use by adolescents can impair brain functioning. Brown’s re-search on 15 and 16 year olds showed cognitive impairments in teen alcohol abusers, compared with non-abusing peers, even weeks after they stop drinking. This suggests that abuse of alcohol by teens may have long-term negative effects on the make up of their brains.
Teens and understanding emotions Teens also differ from adults in their ability to read and understand emotions in the faces of others. Recent research shows that teens and adults actually use different regions of the brain in responding to certain tasks. In a study conducted at Boston’s McLean Hospital, psychologist Deborah Yurgelun-Todd and col-leagues showed pictures of people wearing fearful expressions to teenagers between the ages of 11 and 17 while the teens had their brains scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). She found that compared to adults the teens' frontal lobes (the seat of goal-oriented rational thinking) are less active and their amygdala (a structure in the temporal lobe that is involved in discriminating fear and other emotions) is more ac-tive. The teens often misread facial expressions, with those under the age of 14 more of-ten seeing sadness or anger or confusion instead of fear. Older teenagers answered cor-rectly more often and exhibited a progressive shift of activity from the amygdala to the frontal lobes. The results suggest that "in teens, the judgment, insight and reasoning
Brain Regions and functions
Frontal lobe—self-control, judgment, emotional regulation; restructured in teen years
Corpus callosum—intelligence, consciousness and self-awareness; reaches full maturity in 20’s
Parietal lobes—integrate auditory, visual, and tactile signals; immature until age 16
Temporal lobes—emotional maturity; still developing after age 16
Alcohol use and the developing teen brain Recent research suggests that alcohol use affects adolescents and adults differently, which makes sense given what we now know about the changes going on in the teen brain. While more research needs to be done in this area, Duke University scientists say “the available research suggests that adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to the affects of alcohol on learning and memory (White, 2001). Not only do they react differently to the initial affects of alcohol, studies suggest that teens who repeatedly use alcohol can suffer long-term effects. Preliminary studies using rats have shown that those with repeated alcohol exposure during adolescence are more sensitive to alcohol-induced impairments later in life (White, 2001).
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power of the frontal cortex is not being brought to bear on the task as it is in adults. Teens just process information differently from adults. (Yurgelun-Todd, 2002)"
Implications It is important to note that experts caution careful interpretation of this new information about adolescent brain development, as it is still very early in the analysis and understanding of what it all means. Yet it is also true that these findings add new dimensions to issues facing young people, as well as their parents and teachers, and they pose a challenge to policy makers (NIH, 2000). If the choices adolescents make about using drugs and alcohol and engaging in or avoiding challenging learning tasks have long-term and irreversible consequences for the development of their brains, then discouraging harmful choices and encouraging healthy ones is all the more urgent. This new research may also provide a compelling explanation for why adolescents often fail to heed adults' warnings about such choices; they may simply not be able to understand and accept arguments that seem logical and decisive to adults. It is also possible that teens are misperceiving or misunderstanding the emotions of adults, leading to miscom-munication both in terms of what the teen thinks the adult is feeling and in terms of the teen’s response.
Perhaps most importantly, teenagers are empowered with opportunities to develop their brains through the activities in which they choose to participate.
References
Begley, Sharon. (February 28, 2000). Getting inside a teen brain. Newsweek, 135 (9), 58-59.
Brown, A., Tapert, S., Granholm, E., and Delis, D. (2000). Neurocognitive functioning of adolescents: Effects of protracted alcohol use. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Re-search, 24, 164-171.
Giedd, J., Blumenthal, J., Jeffries, N., Castellanos, F., Liu, H., Zijdenbos, A., Paus, T., Evans, A., and Rapoport, J. (1999). Brain development during childhood and adolescence: A lon-gitudinal MRI study. Nature Neuroscience, 2 (10), 861-863.
National Institutes of Health (2000). Adolescent Alcohol Dependence May Damage Brain Function. NIH News Release, available on line at www.hih/gov/news/pr/feb2000/niaaa-14.htm
National Institute of Mental Health (2001). Teenage Brain: A work in progress. National Institute of Mental Health publication available on line at www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/teenbrain.cfm.
White, A. (2001) Alcohol and Adolescent Brain Development. Paper available online at http://www.duke.edu/~amwhite/alc_adol_pf.html.
Yurgelun-Todd, D. (2002) Frontline interview “Inside the Teen Brain” on PBS.org. Full in-terview available on the web at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/interviews/todd.html
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STATION 1: CEREBRAL CORTEX
Materials needed: Your mind, your opinions, your voiceRead the following out loud to your group and imagine…You have time-travelled back to 2010. Your group is going to the movies tonight. On the next few pages are movie options available at the theater. Briefly review the movie options then continue reading this page. You can scrutinize your options in more depth later.On your way to the theater, you pass a homeless man on the sidewalk covered in a blanket. He asks you for money, or for someone to buy him a cup of hot tea. Most people on the street are walking by, ignoring him. It is February and the temperature is below freezing. You have 30 minutes before the movie starts and the theater is right around the corner. The homeless man is in front of a convenience store.As you near the homeless man, a woman blocks your path. She is holding a clipboard and wearing a PETA jacket—People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She flashes a picture of a cow hanging by its legs in a slaughterhouse. The cow is bleeding from its neck. She asks you if you like people torturing animals and if you will donate any amount of money to PETA’s efforts to stop cruelty to animals.Decide as a group how you would respond to the homeless man, the PETA woman, and the movie theater plans. Do you give money to anyone or continue on to the theater?If you continue on to the theater, decide what movie to watch.
Runtime: 1 hr. 36 min. Rated: PG Cast: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, Cary Elwes Genre: Action/Adventure, Family Synopsis: “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, captures the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking 3D motion picture event. Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take him on an eye-opening journey revealing truths Old Scrooge is reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
NewMoon
Runtime: 2 hr. 10 min. Rated: PG-13 Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner Genre: Romance, SciFi/Fantasy Synopsis: In the second installment of Stephenie Meyer's phenomenally successful TWILIGHT series, the romance between mortal and vampire soars to a new level as Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) delves deeper into the mysteries of the supernatural world she yearns to become part of—only to find herself in greater peril than ever before. With more of the passion, action and suspense that made TWILIGHT a worldwide phenomenon, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is a spellbinding follow-up to the box office hit.
Runtime: 2 hr. 38 min. Rated: PG-13 Cast: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama Synopsis: Never before has a date in history been so significant to so many cultures, so many religions, scientists, and governments. 2012 is an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.
Runtime: 1 hr. 51 min. Rated: G Cast: Michael Jackson Genre: Documentary Synopsis: Michael Jackson's final film is a compilation of rehearsal, behind-the-scenes and other footage of the pop legend preparing for the This Is It concert series which was to be held for 100 shows in London. HighSchoolMusical's Kenny Ortega directs and handles all of the choreography.
Runtime: 1 hr. 34 min. Rated: PG Cast: Catherine Keener, Max Records, Mark Ruffalo Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Family, SciFi/Fantasy Synopsis: Misunderstood at home and at school, mischievous Max (Max Records) escapes to a land populated by majestic, and sometimes fierce, creatures known as the Wild Things. The Wild Things allow Max to become their leader, and he promises to create a kingdom where everyone will be happy. However, Max soon finds that being the king is not easy, and that his relationships with the Wild Things are much more complicated than he originally thought.
STATION 2: HIPPOCAMPUS
Materials needed: Deck of cards. Instructions: Shuffle the cards and spread them on the table face down. Take turns trying to flip over two matching numbers.
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STATION 3: CEREBELLUM
Instructions: Perform the following challenges as a group. Perform each challenge for 15 seconds.
CHALLENGE 1: Balance on one foot CHALLENGE 2: Balance on one foot With eyes closed CHALLENGE 3: Balance on one foot With eyes closed While timer person gently nudges you CHALLENGE 4: Balance on one foot With eyes closed Holding egg in spoon CHALLENGE 5: Balance on one foot With eyes closed Holding egg in spoon with dominant hand Writing your name on a piece of paper with your non-dominant hand
STATION 4: HYPOTHALAMUS & PITUITARY GLAND
Instructions: The hypothalamus is an area of the brain that influences and coordinates many chemical or endocrine functions through chemical and nerve impulse actions on the pituitary gland. Alcohol has two noticeable effects on the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, which influence sexual behavior and urinary excretion. Unknowingly, Shakespeare described these effects quite accurately. Read the quote from Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Act 2 Scene 3) and see whether you can describe these effects. Macduff: What three things does drink especially promote? Porter: Marry sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine. Lechery, sir it provokes, and unprovokes; it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance...
STATION 5: MEDULLA OBLONGATA
Instructions: Take your pulse while you are at rest and calculate the number of beats per minute your heart is producing. Can you consciously control your heart rate by increasing it or decreasing it while you are still at rest? Heartbeat is controlled by the medulla oblongata. What other bodily functions do you think the medulla oblongata controls? How might alcohol affect the bodily functions controlled by the medulla oblongata?
STATION 1: CEREBRAL CORTEX
1) Shade in the cerebral cortex.
2) Perform the station activity.
3) What did you/your group decide to do that February night in 2010? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
4) This activity utilized your cerebral cortex. What human skills or behaviors did you need for this station activity?
5) What do you think the cerebral cortex allows/helps you to do in life? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________
6) What do you think your decision would have been if your cerebral cortex was damaged? Would it have been different?
Henry Gustav Molaison, known as “patient H.M.,” suffered epileptic seizures from a young age. In 1953, H.M. underwent surgery to remove seizure-prone areas of his brain. In the surgery, almost all of his hippocampus was either removed or destroyed. H.M. lived to be 82, but the hippocampal removal drastically changed his life. HM’s case played a major role in the development of theories relating to brain function and memory.
13) How do you think HM’s hippocampal removal affected his behavior? Be as
specific as you can and feel free to make educated guesses based on your knowledge of the hippocampus.
16) Performing the station 3 activities required the use of your cerebellum. What category/categories of human function might the cerebellum be in charge of?
17) Describe the behavior/functioning of a person whose cerebellum has been damaged or impaired due to brain injury or alcohol consumption. Be creative and take chances. Keep in mind that the cerebellum is in charge of a large category of human functioning.
23) What important body functions does the medulla oblongata control? ______________________________________________________________________
24) An autonomic function is an action or response of the body that occurs automatically. The medulla oblongata, which is part of the brainstem, controls many autonomic functions. What are some other examples of autonomic functions you can think of?
The Party At 1:25am, police received a phone call concerning a 20-year-old male who was unconscious in the backyard of a party. Vinny, who made the ambulance call, reported that the 20-year-old was unresponsive when friends tried shaking him and shouting his name. He was lying on the ground and it looked like he had vomited. When the paramedics took his vital signs, his heart rate and breathing had significantly slowed and he had to be rushed to the emergency room where he received IV fluids and had his stomach pumped. The police took information from several witnesses who were still at the party: Bianca (party host): “He arrived at 11pm and prepared himself a drink in my kitchen. He is normally very shy, but I noticed him chatting with a group of women shortly after. He seemed not to notice when I passed by, although it’s my party he was attending and we have a class together.” Vanessa: “At 11:45 pm, I was chatting with him. He’s usually very shy and nervous around me, so we usually converse the most at parties when he’s more extroverted. I tried asking him how classes were going, but he seemed disinterested in my questions and started saying suggestive things to me, asking me if I wanted to go back to his place after the party. His friend was standing by and tried elbowing him to say, “Stop yourself! That’s inappropriate!” He reached out to touch me playfully, and I brushed his hand away. Then he grabbed a beer and tried opening the bottle with his teeth, which proved unsuccessful. He might have even chipped a tooth, but he didn’t seem concerned or pained.” Mia: “Around 12:30 am, I had a brief interaction with him in the backyard. I had dropped my cell phone on the ground, and it happened to land at his feet. He looked down at it, then up at me very slowly. He bent down to pick it up and almost fell over several times. He couldn’t seem to get his hand on the phone properly to pick it up. I was watching him, because it was pretty amusing, and when he finally picked up the phone, he shoved it in my general direction and said something I couldn’t understand. His speech was extremely slurred to the point of being incomprehensible. I watched him collapse on the nearest chair and sort of stare off with is drink in his hand.” Tony: “I had a brief conversation with him at 1:00 am, and he seemed extremely confused. He immediately forgot what we were talking about. I couldn’t seem to keep a topic going. Then someone accidentally bumped into him, and he fell over and then cursed the man very loudly. He threw his drink at the guy, but missed by a long shot. I had to help him back to his feet and calm him down.” Vinny: “I found him on the laying on the ground a little after 1 am. At first I figured he was just ‘sleeping it off,’ but thought he didn’t look quite right and noticed he was laying
in vomit. His breathing was slow and he did not respond when I tried to wake him. I hesitated a moment, but then decided to call an ambulance.”
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The Party
Complete the chart below. Indicate the behaviors exhibited by the guest and the corresponding brain regions that are impaired.
Use the Estimated BAC and BAC and impaired brain regions tables below as guides.
Witness time of report Behaviors of the guest Brain regions likely impaired
Estimated B.A.C
The Party (Answer key) Complete the chart below. Indicate the behaviors exhibited by the guest and the
corresponding brain regions that are impaired
Witness Time of report
Behaviors of the guest
Brain regions likely impaired
(cf. BAC and impaired brain regions
chart)
Estimated B.A.C
(cf. BAC Tables)
Bianca 11:00pm
normally very shy, but I noticed him chatting with a group of women
cerebral cortex .03 - .06
Vanessa 11:45pm
made suggestive and inappropriate statements; tried opening the bottle with his teeth
cerebral cortex, hippocampus
.06 - .09
Mia 12:30am
almost fell over several times; speech slurred and incomprehensible
cerebral cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum
.1 - .2
Tony 1:00am
extremely confused; immediately forgot what we were talking about; he fell over; threw his drink at the guy, but missed by a long shot.
cerebral cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum
.2 - .3
Vinny 1:25am
laying on the ground; laying in vomit; breathing was slow; did not respond
inability to stand, supression of gag reflex, vomiting, slower heartrate, slower breathing, unconsciousness, loss of peripheral feelings, possible death
Charts above downloaded from http://alcohol.stanford.edu/bac.html Aug. 21, 2011
