Science Pops Open, Ep. 6: Awaiting Balance in the Adolescent B...

Do you remember your teenage years? Who can forget! Adolescence is a time of discovery, but also of risk-taking. Dr. Kiki Zanolie wanted to know why: What, specifically, is happening in teenagers’ brains to make them knowingly run risks? The results of her studies of brain regions involved in decision-making may hold an answer to that question.

Cet article existe également en français : https://www.mysciencework.com/news/11934/science-pops-open-ep-6-en-attendant-l-equilibre-les-adolescents-et-leur-cerveau

Adolescence: Whether it was relatively peaceful or full of teen angst, none of us is likely to forget it. It is a special time in life, when we begin discovering who we might become, exploring the possibilities…and taking all of the risks that accompany experimenting with life! Kiki Zanolie wanted to understand what was happening in the adolescent brain to cause all this risk-taking (and worrying of parents everywhere). As teens, our brains are still developing; in what way, specifically, may hold the answer to that question.

Certain areas of the brain are important for making decisions: one is involved on the emotional level, another in helping us plan our behavior or stop it when we know it’s harmful. Dr. Zanolie’s work has shown that, during adolescence, the emotional zone has already developed, but its rational counterpart has not. This imbalance could explain why teens in social settings, with emotions fully charged, may make choices they know to be risky. This is a perfectly normal part of growing up, but Dr. Zanolie hopes that, by understanding what adolescents are experiencing and why, we can help them safely navigate their sometimes tumultuous teen years.

Listen to Kiki explain how this balancing act plays out in the teenage brain, in this short interview from the 2014 AXA Pop Days:

Next Monday:

Reservoirs are important for more than storing water: they allow us to manage and control the huge amounts of water that pass through our communities, reducing the damage caused by both floods and droughts. Luciano Raso is working on optimizing reservoir management systems in order to maximize control over our water resources, while limiting costs. The challenges are both technical and political, he says – the perfect combination for this engineer.