Those teen brains

Friday, March 5, 2010

Last week, a neurologist spoke to about 100 people at Bedford High School about something that should be of interest to all of us: The teenage brain.

And this week, on National Public Radio (that font of socialist thought, according to some who probably don’t spend time listening to NPR), the same subject came up.

And, in general, it comes down to this: The teen brain, while potentially the same as the adult brain, hasn’t gotten there yet. It still has some developing to do and a lot of what hasn’t developed has to do with the decision-making process.

So, teens don’t always make the wise choices because their brains aren’t wired yet to do so.

And then there is stress. According to Michael Nerney, the neurologist brought in by the Coalition for Bedford Youth and the Bedford High School Students Against Destructive Decisions, there is a chemical called THP, which is released in the brain during times of stress. THP, he said, causes adults to become more focused but creates anxiety in adolescent children.

Aha! So that explains why Johnny throws things across the room sometimes.

Well, maybe. At least it could.

What we find most interesting here is the dedication of these two local groups to help all of us understand things that could affect us every day. If you’ve got a teenager, you understand.

The Bedford groups seem to get it: The more we understand, the better we can cope with things that normally would make us want to scream.

But it isn’t just that they get it. They then go out and do something about it. The only pity here is that only 100 people showed up for this talk.

But that’s OK. Don’t stop trying. Even if only 100 people got this important message, that’s a start.

Keep up the good work.