Navigating the Teen Years:Travel Inside the Adolescent Brain

Ken Winters, Ph.D.Department of PsychiatryUniversity of Minnesotawinte001@umn.edu

Drug Free Communities – Waukesha CountyWaukesha, WISeptember 26, 2013

1. TeenBrain Development

2. Brain developmentand early drug use

3. Keys to Parenting

4. Resources &Summary

1. TeenBrain Development

Adolescence is a period of profound brain maturation.

We thought brain development was complete by adolescence

We now know… maturation is not complete until about

age 25!!!

Important ages of majority and privileges16 - emancipation

- driving

18 - gambling (usually age 21 when alcohol served)

- smoking (some at age 19

- military

21 -drinking

An Immature Brain = More Accelerator, Less Brakes

Maturation Occurs from Back to Front of the BrainImages of Brain Development in Healthy Youth

(Ages 5 – 20)

Source: PHAS USA 2004 May 25; 101(21): 8174-8179. Epub 2004 May 17.

Blue represents maturing of brain areas

Brain Development

1 2 7 16 30

Prenatal Post-birth Age

RA

TE

OF

CH

AN

GE

Myelination

Synaptic Refinement

Volume

Metabolism

Blood Flow

Receptors

Tapert & Schweinsburg (2005)

Adolescence

• Preference for ….1. physical activity2. high excitement and rewarding activities3. activities with peers that trigger high

intensity/arousal4. novelty

• Less than optimal..5. control of emotional arousal6. consideration of negative conseq.

• Greater tendency to…7. be attentive to social information8. take risks and show impulsiveness

Implications of Brain Development for Adolescent Behavior

Implications of Brain Development for Adolescent Behavior

reward incentives > perception of consequences

1. TeenBrain Development

2. Brain developmentand early drug use

The teen brain may be more sensitive to the acute

effects of drugs on the dopamine system

Prevalence of Past-Year DSM-IV Alcohol Dependence: United States, 2001-2002(Grant, B.F., et al., Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 74, 223-234, 2004)

12.211

5.8

4.1 3.9 3.8 3.7

1.9

0.3 0.20

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

15-20 21-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60+

%

hippocampus

MRI: Hippocampal Size

Nagel, Schweinsburg, Pham, & Tapert, 2005

•Hippocampus

– Encodes new info

– Left smaller in AUD teens (p<.01)

– But no relationship with cognitive functioning (due to less severe alcohol group than Brown et al. sample?)

•Hippocampus

– Encodes new info

– Left smaller in AUD teens (p<.01)

– But no relationship with cognitive functioning (due to less severe alcohol group than Brown et al. sample?)

10% smaller volume

2013 US Marijuana Laws by State

What’s Affected by Marijuana?

Prevalence of Past Year Serious Mental Illness Among Lifetime Marijuana Users Aged 18+(SAMHSA, 2005; data collected 2002-2003)

21

17.4

12.210.5

0

5

10

15

20

25

< age 12 age 12-14 age 15-17 > age 17

perc

enta

ges

age of marijuana onset

Meier et al., 2012; PNAS

Significant drop in IQ for

early and chronic users

Allstate ad, NY Times, May, 2007

Driving a car with a distracted and inexperienced teenager behind the wheel

Impact of Peer Presence onRisky Driving in Simulated Context

Chein et al., in press

peer effect

1. TeenBrain Development

2. Brain developmentand early drug use

3. Keys to Parenting

Striking the RightBalance

MONITORING

+ -

+

SUPPORT

-

desired

< desired worse

< desired

Effective Parenting Component #4: Monitoring and Supervision

1. Many opportunities for conventional involvement, positive family involvement

2. Good impulse control3. Follows rules and avoids delinquent peers4. Negative attitudes toward drugs5. Low availability of drugs6. High commitment to school7. High perceived risk of drug use8. Rewarded for involvement in conventional activities9. Family attitudes do not favor drug use10.Family is close

Key Protective Factors that Improve the Likelihood of a Drug-Free Child

1. Many opportunities for conventional involvement, positive family involvement

2. Good impulse control3. Follows rules and avoids delinquent peers4. Negative attitudes toward drugs5. Low availability of drugs6. High commitment to school7. High perceived risk of drug use8. Rewarded for involvement in conventional activities9. Family attitudes do not favor drug use10.Family is close

Which ones are the easiest for a parent to influence? Toughest?

Take Home for Parents

Promote activities that capitalize on the strengths of the developing brain

Assist your child with challenges that require planning

Reinforce their seeking advice from you and other adults

Encourage lifestyle that promotes healthy brain development

Never underestimate drug effects on developing brain

Tolerate “oops” behaviors common during the teens

1. TeenBrain Development

2. Brain developmentand early drug use

3. Keys to Parenting

4. Resources &Summary

1. Prevention Smart Parents

www. prevention-smart.org

Helps parents prevent, intervene in and find treatment for drug and alcohol use by their

children

2. The Partnership

www.drugfree.org

www.drugfree.org/teenbrain

Summary • Adolescence is an extended

period of transition from reliance on adults to independence

• Normal adolescence is characterized by….• increase in conflicts with family

members• desire to be with one’s friends• resistance to messages from

authority• irritability• proclamations of sheer

boredom• risk taking• reward incentive-biased

decision making

Summary

• The brain undergoes a considerable amount of development during the teen years.

• The last area to mature is the prefrontal cortex region; involved in planning, decision making and impulse control.

Gray Matter Maturation(Gogtay et al., 2004)

Gray Matter Maturation, Age 4-21Gogtay et al., 2004

Summary

Gray Matter Maturation(Gogtay et al., 2004)

Gray Matter Maturation, Age 4-21Gogtay et al., 2004

reward incentives > perception of consequences

Stay involved as a parent

THANK YOU! winte001@umn.edu