HUMANDEV 270 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Frontal Lobe, Reference Group, Identity Formation
6 Dec 2016
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Document Summary
Brain begins to prune away, decrease in number of connections. Speed is 100x faster, resting period is 30 times faster. 100 x 30 means 3,000 times faster and more integrated, system works better. Increase in grey matter until peak at 9. 5-10. 5 yrs, decreases slowly until 25 yrs. White matter and myelin increases until age 40. Hormones influence amygdala, emotions stimulus thrill seeking behavior. Changes in brain are necessary to prepare the adolescent to leave home. Ability to move toward what is uncertain, uncomfortable and even unsafe. Nature has to change certain circuits, rewards circuit, drops dopamine levels, releases dopamine change to crave novelty, doing something new, different things with body. Hyperrational thinking: decision making is weighted toward the exciting things. Hyperrational behavior: adolescent engages in risky behavior, not impulsive. Myth of raging hormones, instead remodeling of the brain. Emotional spark: brain is filled with more emotional processes emerging from body, lower stem of brain, move into the cortex.
