Are Teen Brains Defective?

For the past several years neuroscience research has presented a growing adolescent brain–a brain not yet fully matured and, therefore, somewhat defective.  The underdeveloped prefrontal cortex (or rational brain) has steered teens toward a proclivity for impulsive high risk behaviors and poor judgement.  Most of us, having been adolescents ourselves, nod in agreement and let out a big sigh of relief that our teenage transgressions are perhaps excusable–a fault of nature–victims of evolution.  It's amazing we've managed to survive as a species!  New research, however, reveals something different–a teen brain with some positive attributes.

B. J. Casey, a neuroscientist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, shows evidence that the teenage brain is, in fact, capable of delaying gratification–that it's not as impulsive as once thought.  Read B. J. Casey's interview with NPR here.  Listen to the interview here:




Casey's research presents a brain that, when faced with high potential for reward, is capable of waiting.  In fact, her research might even suggest in some reward based circumstances, the teenage brain may be more capable of waiting than some adult brains.  Casey's research presents parents with something to think about when establishing a system of rewards and consequences.  Is a teenager more likely to make good choices when those choices are reinforced with rewards rather than punishment?  Makes sense to me.