Chapter 2 - The Adolescent Brain

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

A technique used to produce images of the brain, often while the subject is performing some sort of mental task.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)

A technique used to produce images of the brain that shows connections among different regions.

Brain Structure

The physical form and organization of the brain.

Brain Function

Patterns of brain activity.

Neurons

Nerve cells.

Synapse

The gap in space between neurons, across which neurotransmitters carry electrical impulses.

Neurotransmitters

Specialized chemicals that carry electrical impulses between neurons.

Synaptic Pruning

The process through which unnecessary connections between neurons are eliminated, improving the efficiency of information processing.

Myelination

The process through which brain circuits are insulated with myelin, which improves the efficiency of information processing.

Plasticity

The capacity of the brain to change in response to experience.

Developmental Plasticity

Extensive remodeling of the brain's circuitry in response to experiences during childhood and adolescence, while the brain is still maturing.

Adult Plasticity

Relatively minor changes in brain circuits as a result of experiences during adulthood, after the brain has matured.

Prefrontal Cortex

The region of the brain most important for sophisticated thinking abilities, such as planning, thinking ahead, weighing risks and rewards, and controlling impulses.

Limbic System

An area of the brain that plays an important role in the processing of emotional experience, social information, and reward and punishment.

Response Inhibition

The suppression of a behavior that is inappropriate or no longer required.

Executive Function

More advanced thinking abilities, enabled chiefly by the maturation of the prefrontal cortex, especially in early adolescence.

Functional Connectivity

The extent to which multiple brain regions function at the same time, which improves during adolescence.

Dopamine

A neurotransmitter especially important in the brain circuits that regulate the experience of reward.

Serotonin

A neurotransmitter that is especially important for the experience of different moods.

Positive Risk Taking

Risk taking that promotes healthy psychological development