Adolescence and Rites of Passage Lecture Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering brain development, the history of teenage culture, various international rites of passage, and literary themes regarding growth and mortality.

Frontal lobe

A large region at the front of the brain responsible for higher-level functions such as planning, decision-making, judgment, and managing behavior.

Prefrontal cortex

The very front part of the frontal lobe that acts as a "CEO" for complex executive functions like personality and impulse control.

Grey matter

Essential brain and spinal cord tissue consisting of cell bodies that handles mental functions, memory, emotions, and movement.

Synaptic pruning

A natural brain process where extra synapses are removed to strengthen remaining connections, making the brain faster and more efficient.

Nitin Gogtay

The neuroscientist who led a study following $13$ healthy children from ages $4$ to $21$ to map cortical grey matter changes.

White matter

Long nerve fibers made of axons coated with myelin that link different parts of the brain and spinal cord to conduct electrical signals.

Myelin

Proteins and lipids that coat axons to insulate them and speed up the transmission of electrical nerve impulses.

Segregation

A brain development process described as building "neighborhoods" of related thoughts, which increases during aging.

Integration

A brain development process described as building "highways" to connect different thought neighborhoods, which typically declines in mid-adulthood.

Small worldness

A measure of brain network efficiency and the largest predictor for identifying brain age in mid-adulthood.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to rewire itself through structural growth and change, reaching its peak during adolescence.

Neophilia

The tendency to seek out new and novel experiences, which is driven by heightened sensitivity to dopamine and rewards during adolescence.

Differentiation

The process by which brain regions become more specialized, shifting from general to specific roles.

Gerontocratic

A system of government, society, or group that is run by old people.

Teenocratic

An unofficial term used to describe modern culture that is heavily influenced by the tastes and trends of young people.

Vision Quest

A Native American rite of passage involving a four-day fast at a sacred site to seek visions about one's life purpose and role in the community.

Seijin no Hi

Coming of Age Day; a Japanese public holiday held on the second Monday of January to celebrate those reaching adulthood.

Genpuku

Historical Japanese coming-of-age rituals for elite boys that originated during the Nara period ($710$–$794$ AD).

Furisode

A style of kimono with long sleeves worn by Japanese women during the Seijin no Hi ceremony.

Bar and Bat Mitzvahs

Jewish rituals where children (boys at $13$, girls at $12$ or $13$) become responsible for Jewish law, tradition, and ethics.

Walkabout

A traditional Australian Aboriginal rite of passage for young men involving temporarily nomadic survival in ancestral lands for up to six months.

Songlines

Sacred spiritual songs that serve as spoken maps to guide Aboriginal Australians through landscapes and hunting grounds.

Khatam al-Quran

An Islamic celebration marking the completion of reading or reciting the entire Qur’an.

Debutante

A young woman of aristocratic or upper-class background who is formally presented to society at a formal ball or "coming-out" party.

Adulting

A term popularized by millennials that treats adulthood as a verb, referring to the performance of mundane adult responsibilities like chores or scheduling appointments.

Dependent origination

A Buddhist concept featured in Thich Nhat Hanh's poetry stating that all things arise due to complex causes and conditions and lack independent existence.