In order to understand your teen brain, you'll need to learn about two of its parts: the prefrontal cortex and the striatum.
The Prefrontal Cortex
The prefrontal cortex, located in the front of your brain, regulates impulses and helps evaluate the consequences of actions. Its connections to the more emotional areas of your brain are critical to being able to manage your behavior well. So, when you're trying to make a good decision, this is what will help you. What a shame it would be if it was inhibited somehow, right?
The Striatum
The striatum, found in the inner layers of your brain, is very important for processing rewarding stimuli. When something that you like happens, such as eating, the striatum activates and releases a neurotransmitter called dopamine, rewarding your brain for the action and making you like the pleasurable thing. But, if the striatum encourages certain behaviors through the dopamine it releases, what happens when it rewards you for something dangerous?
Your Brain's Development
Beginning in puberty and ending in your mid-20s, a process goes from the back of your brain and continues towards its front. Synapses, connections in the brain used for communication, are grown and then pruned later to make things more efficient. Additionally, synapses become coated with a protective substance known as myelin, which acts to boost efficiency and precision. This goes on constantly, meaning that your brain is growing and changing even as you're on this website!
Because you're in the middle of these changes, only a section of your brain is fully developed. One still incomplete piece of your brain is your prefrontal cortex. As a result, the prefrontal cortex is less able to perform any and all of its functions. Meanwhile, areas of the brain that play roles in reward and pleasure, like your striatum, are more developed. This means that, unlike your prefrontal cortex, your reward-involved striatum is operating amazingly.
Are you wondering how these two differently-matured parts of the brain would interact? Why don't you take a moment to guess what could happen and go to the next page to see if you're right?