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This is your teen's brain, growing up

March 05, 2013|By Geoffrey Mohan
  • The study suggests that teenagers may be adding brain cells during puberty.
The study suggests that teenagers may be adding brain cells during puberty. (J.W. Burkey )

Wondering where your teen's mind is?


"In school we were always taught the cells you're born with are pretty much all you get," said Margaret Mohr, a doctoral candidate in neuroscience at Michigan State University and one of the study's authors. "We're finding that's not true at all."


But enough about your hippocampus. Let's talk about your teen's amygdala, which processes memory and emotional reaction, and "kind of helps teens redirect their social communication," Mohr said.

Your amygdala might pick up on someone's sexual interest, perhaps. Or read that someone is spoiling for a chance to prove his dominance. All of that is useful around the time children are about to transition into the tricky social interactions of adulthood.

Researchers don't use real teens or 'tweens, even if parents would volunteer them. They used the next best thing: a pubescent male hamster. They injected the rodents with a commonly used substance that helps mark the birth date of cells, then put them in different environments — an "enriched" one with a wheel to run on, another without much to stimulate them.



Having a wheel to run around on made a difference too. Those hamsters in such an "enriched" environment were more likely to retain these teen cells into adulthood, the study found.


"In humans, exercise and social interactions are important for your well-being," Mohr said. "We know exercise helps these new cells survive."

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