The teenage brain: impatient and stressed out

More stimuli and constant contact with technology. Two factors that mark an obvious difference between the teens of today and those of 20 years ago and often prompt concern among parents as to their potential to affect their children’s development. But is there really any need to be worried about technology's effects on the brains of our teenagers? Are there other elements that may have a bigger impact on brain development? Can we protect our children from risk?

As UOC Faculty of Health Sciences professor and expert in neuroscience and psychobiology Diego Redolar explains, the brain is an organ that takes a very long time to mature and does not develop fully until we reach the age of 20. In terms of the technology use which today represents such a source of worry for parents, according to the expert it has the potential to "modify the strategies we use in the way we process information", and, as such, the brain of a child who has grown up in the digital era will work "in a different way". He also points out that it is not the structure of the brain itself that changes, but rather the "cognitive strategies". "We don’t yet know if this is a positive or negative thing", says Redolar, adding that children and adolescents "are now accustomed to immediacy". As such, "their brains are unprepared" when it comes to coping with delay.

Neurosciences and Neuropsychology doctoral degree holder and course instructor on the UOC Master's degree in Neuropsychology Beatriz Gavilán goes on to warn that an excessive amount of time spent on tablets or social media limits exposure to face-to-face communication. "If you never expose yourself to this type of situation, learning how to act as part of a group becomes much harder", she explains, pointing out that individuals who restrict themselves to interacting through social media find social situations far more difficult.

Although we are yet to identify the exact impact technology may have on brain development, one thing that has been demonstrated is the negative effect of stress. "Suffering from long-term stress prompts the system to respond", says the professor, going on to explain that this can have an effect on brain development. While stress in adults is usually related to work, in teenagers it is usually associated with a perceived lack of control within a situation they are worried about. For example, these feelings could surface when parents separate, when there is a breakdown in the family structure or when they are being bullied, among others. Given these facts, the professor advises parents to be on the alert for signs that their child is going through a stressful period in order to avoid serious issues.

The consumption of drugs – both hard and soft – is another factor that has the potential to affect teenage brain development. "Drugs produce changes in different regions of the brain and modify prefrontal cortex function, a part of our brain that is still not fully mature during adolescence", warns Redolar, who highlights the need for actions to be implemented to raise awareness about issues such as alcohol consumption, targeted towards both adolescents and society as a whole. The professor emphasises the fact that, although widely accepted socially, alcohol is in fact a depressant drug with the potential to affect a number of important regions linked to cognitive abilities. Moving on to marijuana, the expert points out that tetrahydrocannabinol – better known as THC – can have a very marked effect "on memory". "Once the teenager stops using marijuana, it is harder for their brain to return to normal", says Redolar, adding that users may run a “higher” risk of developing some form of mental illness.