This just in from the Providence Journal:
"All human brains contain a frontal lobe, the part that controls problem solving and judgment, but researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health have found that it's not fully developed until people reach their late teens or early 20s.
That means teenagers are making decisions about drinking, sex, drugs and driving, among other things, with an ill-equipped brain. They're making these decisions based on emotion instead of reason.
[...]
Using MRIs to scan children's brains over many years, the researchers identified which parts matured when. The areas that control senses and movement develop first, followed by those controlling language and spatial orientation. Areas that manage what's called 'executive functioning' matured last.
Dr. Jay Giedd, the lead researcher on the NIMH studies, has said that teens are smart enough, but "it's sort of unfair to expect them to have adult levels of organizational skills or decision making before their brain is finished being built."
I think I speak for all former teenagers and parents of teenagers in greeting this startling discovery with a resounding: "Well, duh."
"All human brains contain a frontal lobe, the part that controls problem solving and judgment, but researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health have found that it's not fully developed until people reach their late teens or early 20s.
That means teenagers are making decisions about drinking, sex, drugs and driving, among other things, with an ill-equipped brain. They're making these decisions based on emotion instead of reason.
[...]
Using MRIs to scan children's brains over many years, the researchers identified which parts matured when. The areas that control senses and movement develop first, followed by those controlling language and spatial orientation. Areas that manage what's called 'executive functioning' matured last.
Dr. Jay Giedd, the lead researcher on the NIMH studies, has said that teens are smart enough, but "it's sort of unfair to expect them to have adult levels of organizational skills or decision making before their brain is finished being built."
I think I speak for all former teenagers and parents of teenagers in greeting this startling discovery with a resounding: "Well, duh."
The last study I was in was for a non-CFC propellant inhailer..... wayyy less fun.
