PSYCH 250 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Frontal Lobe, Grey Matter, Striatum
Document Summary
A period of contradiction in health: low rates of serious medical conditions, high rates of risky behaviors that lead to injury and death. There are increases in myelin during adolescence and beyond. Two crucial aspects of brain development: balance between subcortical structures and the frontal lobe. Early development of two subcortical structure: amygdala emotions (positive/negative, striatum rewards positive social interactions, thrills, drugs. Slow development of the frontal lobes: controlling behavior and emotions. In adolescence, there is a lack of balance between these structures: the amygdala and striatum are hyperactive and the frontal lobes are slow to develop. The amygdala and striatum develop in childhood, so they"re fully functioning by adolescence: increased sensation seeking/risk taking, emotions. Increased size of frontal lobe gray matter at puberty, then decreases. Gray matter areas of brain with many cell bodies/dendrites. Dendrites part of the synapse receive neurochemical input from other neurons.
