Why do teenagers act the way they do? Some of the reasons for common adolescent behaviors, such as risk-taking and making less-than-wise decisions sometimes, relate back to their brain development. The prefrontal cortex, which controls higher-order thinking abilities, is not fully developed until very late in adolescence. Understanding adolescent brain development and finding ways to help teens develop good decision-making skills are important ways that adults support healthy adolescent brain development. In this introduction to adolescent brain development, we will focus on the development (and under-development) of various parts of the brain, the ways this brain development affects behavior, and ways to support adolescents as they finish the crucial period of brain development.

This is an archived recording of the Better Brains for Babies webinar on adolescent brain development, presented by Dr. Diane Bales on 7/21/14. For a copy of the slides, go to http://www.bbbgeorgia.org/BBBwebinars.php.