David Farmer, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health
An adult brain weighs about 1.5kg. It’s mostly water with some fat, protein, sugar and a dash of salt. Sounds like pancakes, I know, but I once tried chicken brains and, well, pancakes are tastier.
Harnessing adolescents’ readiness to help can be good for them and their communities.
YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock.com
Teens get a bad rap as selfish, dangerous risk-takers. But neuroscience and psychology research is revising that image: Adolescents are primed to help those around them, with positive benefits for all.
A good night’s sleep comes down to a comfy place to rest your head.
Marisa Harris/Unsplash
Researchers tracked adolescents’ sleep and scanned their brains. As expected, better sleep went with healthy brain development. Unexpected was the importance of one aspect of where teens slept.
Violence in communities may have an additional unseen victim: young peoples’ developing brains.
Zoran Karapancev/Shutterstock.com
Darby Saxbe, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Experiencing and witnessing violence in their communities can lead to emotional, social and cognitive problems for kids. A new study shows it affects how their developing brains grow, as well.
Using this many devices at once doesn’t mean a person is addicted to technology.
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Though the World Health Organization has declared “gaming disorder” an addiction, its – and others’ – concerns about technology use and alleged addiction don’t hold up to scholarly scrutiny.
Vietnam War protests led to a lower voting age. The Parkland shooting could push similar reevaluations.
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Teens’ brains develop different skills along a predictable timeline. These milestones should influence the legal age boundaries for voting, buying guns and being put to death.
Just because everyone else is doing it…
Shane Pope
Adolescents have important developmental work to do. Despite what worried grownups think, taking needless risks isn’t the goal for teens. Being risky is part of exploring and learning about the world.
A group of teenagers hanging out.
George Rudy/Shutterstock.com
In recent years, the notion of a structurally imbalanced teenage brain has been faulted for bad choices. A review of studies suggests that a deficit in brain development is not to blame.