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Socioeconomic Status and Structural Brain Development
This review explores how socioeconomic status impacts brain development. Lower socioeconomic status is linked to differences in brain structure, possibly due to less stimulation and increased stress during childhood.
Is Adolescence a Sensitive Period for Sociocultural Processing?
Adolescence is a sensitive period where peer acceptance strongly influences self-worth and behavior. Social exclusion during this time can significantly impact mood and heighten anxiety.
The Role of the Anterior Insula in Adolescent Decision Making
Adolescents take more risks due to brain changes during puberty. Reward-seeking brain areas develop faster than self-control areas, leading to increased risk-taking behaviors.
Teens Impulsively React Rather Than Retreat from Threat
Adolescents show poorer self-control than children and adults when faced with potential threats. Their brains exhibit unique activity patterns, impacting their behavior in emotionally charged situations.
The Prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) in the Lives of Juvenile Offenders
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are common and have a powerful, cumulative effect on human development. High ACE scores are linked to chronic diseases and other negative health, educational, and behavioral outcomes in adulthood.
Adolescents Let Sufficient Evidence Accumulate Before Making a Decision When Large Incentives Are at Stake
The article examines how rewards influence adolescent decision-making and related brain activity. Incentives can improve adolescent decisions when tied to performance, but hinder them when used as distractors.
Perceived Discrimination Among African American Adolescents and Allostatic Load: a Longitudinal Analysis with Buffering Effects
Racial discrimination during adolescence is linked to higher levels of biological wear and tear on the body's stress systems, impacting long-term health. This stress may contribute to racial disparities in chronic diseases.
Solitary Confinement and Risk of Self-Harm Among Jail Inmates
Inmates with serious mental illness, those aged 18 and younger, and individuals in solitary confinement face significantly higher risks of self-harm in correctional settings.
Adolescent Brain Development in Normality and Psychopathology
Adolescence is a time of increased risk-taking behaviors, leading to preventable deaths and mental health issues for some. However, it is also a period of profound opportunity and positive social development for many.
Digital Peer Interactions Affect Risk Taking in Young Adults
Young adults engage in high rates of risk-taking due to brain development and peer influence. Their socio-emotional and reward networks are highly active, while cognitive control networks are still maturing.
Maturation of the Adolescent Brain
The adolescent brain undergoes significant development, with ongoing changes in its structure and function. This brain maturation, influenced by hormones and environment, impacts self-control, decision-making, and risk-taking behaviors.
Functional Maturation of the Executive System During Adolescence
Adolescence is a key period for brain development and mental health. Working memory improves during adolescence, linked to specific brain network changes.
Impact of Socio-Emotional Context, Brain Development, and Pubertal Maturation on Adolescent Risk-Taking
Research linking puberty directly to adolescent risk-taking is surprisingly sparse. Studies often confuse puberty's influence with other factors like age or social development, suggesting some risk increases may only coincide with puberty.
Impulsivity, Attention, Memory, and Decision-Making Among Adolescent Marijuana Users
Adolescent marijuana users show lasting deficits in attention and memory, even after periods of abstinence. While decision-making impairments are seen in adult users, more research is needed for adolescents.
Neuroscience, Mental Privacy, and the Law
A trial court in Oregon treated a 17-year-old like an adult because he turned 18 before indictment. This article argues that states should use the offender's age at the time of the offense to determine juvenile court jurisdiction.