Beautiful Brain By David Dobbs Summary

` In the article Beautiful Brains by David Dobbs, evolutionary research conveys that during the adolescent and teenage years the brain encounters an astonishing amount of growth and transformation. Dobbs states that these developments contribute to many of the irresponsible decisions made by teens. In the past, the brain was thought to cease maturing around the age of ten, however, new investigations have found that between the ages of twelve and twenty five, the brain continues to develop, undergoing a considerable metamorphosis. During this metamorphosis, myelin insulates a greater number of neuron’s axons, increasing the speed in which messages are exchanged, dendrites branch out and become broader, accelerating the rate at which messages are received, and synaptic pruning occurs which causes the brain’s cortex to become slimmer and more adept. During teenage years, the brain is still learning to network as well as deal with day to day obstacles such as stress, exhaustion and problems. Dobbs explains that teens act the way they do because their brains are not done maturing. Dobbs credits a wide array of scientists, professors and scholars, and uses their data found from experimentation to support his article. From Beatriz Luna, a University of Pittsburgh professor of psychiatry to Laurence Steinberg, a

Although I believe there is some biasing involved in this article, the amount of credentials sited is impressive, and I can agree with the conclusion. As a teenager, I have made a few mistakes and have taken some risks, however, if I didn’t take these risks, especially during high school, I might not have made new friends, tried new things, or learned new lessons. Although mistakes are made during teenage years, this progressive stage is incredibly important to our