Early brain development
At birth, spinal cord and brain stems are well developed, but upper regions are still undeveloped
All neurons in the cortex are produced during Utero but are poorly connected until after birth
Synaptic connections are made in the first few years
Adolescent brain development
Grey matter (synaptic connections) reaches peak volume and begins to densify across several regions until the mid-20's. This is called synaptic pruning
Connections that are not used enough are eliminated
The pre-frontal cortex is 1 of the last areas to undergo the key process of maturation, and continues to develop throughout our adolescence, as we get better at abstract reasoning and anticipating outcomes
Impact on risk taking
The way adolescent's brains develop along with hormonal changes have a significant impact on decision making and behaviour, combined with major environmental changes
Adolescents are more prone to risk-taking and impulsivity, and their ventral striatum's (reward centres) are highly sensitive, more so than adults