Dr. Jensen | Segment 4 | Transcript Page 1 of 1

The Power of the Adolescent Brain: A TAG Talk

Transcript — Segment 4: Adolescents and Mental Health

Frances Jensen:

What we've learned about brain development helps us understand the bad reputation teens have for 

poor decision making, risk taking, and inability to consider the consequences of their behavior and think 

ahead. We now know that the teen's brain is wired for learning. Teens can learn more quickly than the 

adult, which helps us explain why teenagers may be the only one in your house who knows how to fix 

the computer or smartphone.

The brain during the teenage years is also open to experiences that shape its development. This 

presents opportunities for parents, grandparents, educators, and other adults to have a very positive 

impact on a teen's life. Scientists increasingly view mental illnesses as developmental disorders of the 

brain and that many of them have their roots in the process of brain maturation. By studying how the 

circuitry of the brain develops, scientists hope to understand when and why brain development can 

result in mental illness.

In fact, recent research is showing that many kinds of mental illness have their onset in late childhood,

the teenage years, or early adulthood. This is not a coincidence. In fact, in order to be able to exhibit a 

mental illness, one has to have a certain level of brain development accomplished. An example of this 

would be schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, which all need to have a certain level of 

functioning, or dysfunction, in the frontal and pre-frontal cortices.

One thing we know is that adequate sleep is central to physical and emotional health. Research suggests 

that brain-based changes in the regulation of sleep may contribute to a teen's tendency to stay up late 

at night. Along with the obvious effects, such as fatigue and difficulty maintaining attention, inadequate 

sleep is a powerful contributor to irritability and depression. Studies of children and adolescents have 

also found that sleep deprivation can increase impulsive behavior.

Mental illness affects one in four people at some point in their life span. In fact, almost two-thirds of 

people with major psychiatric conditions have their onset between 15 and 25. This means that the teen 

years and young adult years are a time of great vulnerability to the onset of these illnesses, and we 

should think about being extra-vigilant for signs of mental illness at this window. This can be during high 

school, or college, or a first job. These are typical times when someone might have their first symptoms 

of a mental illness.

Understanding the changes taking place in the brain during this period presents an opportunity to 

intervene early in mental illnesses that often have their onset during the adolescent and young adult 

years. Research findings on the brain also serve to help adults understand the importance of creating an 

environment in which teens and young adults can explore and experiment, while helping them avoid 

behavior that's destructive to themselves and others.

For more information on brain development and mental health for teenagers, please check out these 

resources and other webcasts in this series. Thank you.