by Susan Perlman, PhD

This month’s issue on brain development in childhood and adolescence is a continuation of the monthly series started last year, focusing on health disparities in the Pittsburgh region. The series is a partnership among the New Pittsburgh Courier, Community PARTners (a core service of the University of Pittsburgh’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute—CTSI) and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh. Susan Perlman, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Pitt, sat down with Esther L. Bush, president and CEO of the Urban League, to talk about this month’s topic.

ESTHER BUSH

Some children seem to be born with a happy personality. Other children seem to feel more negative emotions. These “irritable” children are generally in a bad mood and have many tantrums and outbursts. As these children get older, they are at risk for school failure, problems with friends and family and mental illness. These problems also can get worse because of things like poverty, violence in the home or exposure to drugs and alcohol.

A little boy plays a computer game while his brain activity is monitored.

Many parents look at their teenagers and ask themselves, “What happened to the sweet child we once knew?” They are now hard to communicate with and always want to be out with their friends. In many ways, teenagers seem able to make reasonable decisions. But, the next thing you know, they and their friends have gone to the wrong place at the wrong time and made some surprising decisions.

Results from a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study showing brain activity in children, teens, and adults while they play a game where they are asked to not look at a light that appears suddenly on a computer screen. Adults are better at this game than teens and teens are better than children as parts of the brain that are in charge of controlling behavior have better function.

This is normal adolescence. Adolescence is a period of life when changes happen throughout the body that affect the way teens interact with the world. Hormones are racing. They affect what motivates teenagers’ behaviors. During this time, the brain changes a lot. This causes teens to act in ways they find engaging and motivating.

What changes occur in the brain that make the adolescent period of life different from other times of life? Why do teens tend to misbehave and get in trouble? Why does mental illness seem to appear at this time of life? Dr. Beatriz Luna, professor of psychiatry and psychology, directs the Laboratory of Neurocognitive Development at the University of Pittsburgh. She is interested in understanding the changes that occur in the brain during adolescence to better understand teens’ behavior and help find ways to make this time of life better.