The Highly Addictive Teenage Brain
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The Highly Addictive Teenage Brain
1. In your response, explain at least 2 reasons why teens are more prone to addiction than adults.
Teens are more prone to addiction than adults because their brain is still developing. This is particularly the brain section responsible for planning and formation of habits, which responds to rewards in adolescents more than it does for adults. Another reason is their peer influence on each other. When they lack enough family contact with parents or guardians, they tend to form peer groups in their naturally less busy schedules that may impact negatively on their behavior particularly on drug addiction.
2. Then, describe how tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana can each (separately) affect normal brain development during this time.
Nicotine, which is found in tobacco, has a unique effect on the prefrontal cortex part of the brain that handles emotional control as well as impulses in the brain. This section is not fully developed before the age of 25. After an adolescent takes tobacco, the receptor molecules in the brain open and releases messages of good feelings, which are otherwise naturally released by one's body. Repeated exposure of the brain to nicotine leads to the brain not able able to naturally release its own good feelings and one has to depend on tobacco to feel good.
During adolescence, two areas of the brain are majorly affected by alcohol. These are hippocampus and the pre-frontal lobe. The first deals with memory and learning. The long-term effects of alcohol use in adolescence include the reduced size of Hippocampus by approximately nine percent as this section is still developing before the age of 25. Pre-frontal lobe controls the judgment and control of impulses. This section of the brain develops most during adolescence. Therefore, alcohol is likely to have more damage in a developing brain than in an adult.
Marijuana also poses greater damage to teens than in adults because their brains are still developing until they are 25 years. During the development of the brain, the sensitivity of the frontal cortex, which does the planning and decision making is very high to any drug including alcohol. This region is the last to develop fully in the mid-20s and is therefore severely damaged by marijuana.
3. To conclude, you should react to the video including any personal anecdotes or misconceptions about the material that you had.
The brain of a teen is primed for risky lifestyles including taking of drugs and hence prone to addiction than that of an adult. Therefore I would suggest if one must take any form of a drug let it wait until the age of at least 21 to avoid damage to the crucial parts of the brain development.