Teenage Brain

Emma WergelesStaff Writer Being a teenager comes with it all: the mood swings, the attitude, the anxiety, the list goes on and on. These can also include extremes like depression, and one that we all know very well: stress. People often think that teenagers are purely being difficult for the fun of it. Maybe we do sometimes love slamming doors in our parents faces and being rude to our friends, but there is a science to explain our incessant complaining, constant pessimism and harsh words.Teenagers are characterized by their risky behavior.  It is true, teens are impulsive, but they are also vulnerable and dynamic.  According to a National Public Radio (NPR) piece titled "Teenage Brains Are Malleable And Vulnerable, Researchers Say," there are rapid changes occurring in the brain during our teenage years. Although some of these changes can often lead to bad decision making on our part, they also keeps our eyes constantly open and minds alert.  Multiple studies have found a tangible reason for teens' lack of impulse control, claiming that our brains are "wired" to participate in unsafe activities."Its like having a car with no steering wheel or brakes," BJ Casey, a scientist at the Weill Cornell Medical College, said in the NPR article.These studies say that the prefrontal cortex, which determines the consequences of decisions, is not fully developed until one's 25th birthday.Hormones also deserve blame for teenage behavior. Teenagers are constantly experiencing mood swings, from crying for no reason, to being overly excited, to being completely content, all in a few hours.  According to a “The Guardian” article titled "It’s Not Just the Hormones," the hypothalamus runs the hormone system in a part of the brain in between the eyes.  During the reproductive ages, in the hypothalamus the constant pulses of gonadotropin-releasing hormones tell the pituitary gland to secrete the sex hormones.  These hormones then proceed to act on the ovaries for women and the testes for men to produce eggs and sperm.  These changes have a huge impact on both behavior and bodily changes, turning a child into an adult. In an article on “help guide,” called "Teen Depression," due to these hormonal changes teens are drawn to intense, frightening and exciting situations.  In some teens this yearning for fear and intensity is easily manageable, like seeing scary movies, however, in others it can reach a certain life threatening status such as alcohol and drug abuse.   This rush from excitement and fear lead to the majority of teenage deaths, ¾ of which stem from accidents such as drunk driving.  During a person’s teenage years, due to stress, anxiety and a feeling of isolation, depression is more likely to be triggered.  It can be triggered from either genetics, from abuse, or from other illnesses and others. Depression takes a toll on most teenagers, whether it be every day symptoms like fatigue and anxiety, or it be the eight- month episodes of withdrawal and introvert behavior, it is always in the air around us.  It is not simply feeling sad and it does not only affect one's performance at work and school, it puts victims into a deep dark state of life.So, although teenagers are constantly being hard on their parents and giving off this nonchalant attitude, our teen years are also some of the most important years of our lives.  During adolescence we are developing our opinion on the world and our environment.  There is solid scientific evidence proving that teenagers are moody and often rude, but there is also evidence that teens are at a smart, lively and important age in their life.