The teenage brain - 6 Minute English

Neil: Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I'm Neil.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Neil: What do you remember of your

teenage years?

Rob: Oh, I was a nightmare. I was rude to

my parents, always stayed out late, never

did my homework, hung out with the

wrong people and made lots

of bad decisions. How about you, Neil?

Neil: Well, much the same really. People

always say that about teenagers, don’t

they? That they go through a period where

they are out of control and behave badly.

But, apparently, it’s not their fault, at least

not directly.

Rob: So whose fault is it?

Neil: Our brains’, apparently. Teenagers’

brains are still developing in areas that

control behaviour, which could mean that

you can’t blame them for acting the way

they do. Before we find out more, let’s

have our question. There have always

been teenagers, but when was the word

‘teenager’ first used to

refer to the 13 – 19 age group? Was it:

a) the 1920s, b) the 1930s, c) the 1950s

Any ideas, Rob?

Rob: Well, I think it came along around the

time of rock and roll, so that would have

made it the 1950s. That’s my guess.

Neil: I'll have the answer later in the

programme. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore from

University College London specialises in

the workings of the brain, particularly the

teenage brain. Recently she was a guest

on the BBC Radio programme,

The Life Scientific. She explained that the

understanding that the brain is still developing

during the teenage years is quite new.

When does she say the first research came out?

The first study showing that the human

brain undergoes this very substantial and

significant development throughout

adolescence and into the twenties: the

first papers were published in the late 90s.

Before that, and for example

when I was at university, the dogma in the

text books was that the vast majority of

brain development goes on in the first few

years of life and nothing much changes

after mid-childhood. That dogma is

completely false.

Neil: So when did the research into the

teenage brain come out?

Rob: Surprisingly, it wasn’t until the late

1990s. This was when she said that the

first papers on this subject were published.

Papers in this context means the results

of scientific research which are published.

Neil: And she didn’t actually talk about

teenagers, did she?

Rob: No, that’s right. She talked about the

period of adolescence. This noun,

adolescence, is the period when someone

is developing from a child into an adult

and it more or less is the same as the

teenage years.

Neil: What I found interesting was that

before the 1990s people believed

something different about the way our

brains develop.

Rob: Yes, Professor Blakemore said that

the dogma had been that our brains are

mostly fully developed in early childhood,

long before adolescence. Dogma is a

word used to describe a strong belief that

people are expected to accept as true.

Neil: So our brains are still developing

much later than was originally thought.

What does this tell us about teenage

behaviour? Of particular interest is an

important part of the brain called the

prefrontal cortex. Here is Professor

Blakemore again. What excuse can she

give for teenagers who don’t get their

homework done in time?

The prefrontal cortex is the part of the

brain right at the front, just behind the

forehead and it’s involved in a whole

range of very high-level cognitive tasks

such as decision making and planning -

we know that this region

is undergoing very very large amounts of

development during the adolescent years.

And so in terms of the expectations that

we place on teenagers to, for example,

plan their homework, it might be too

much given that we know that the region

of the brain that critically involved in

planning is not developed yet.

Neil: So the prefrontal cortex is important

in cognitive tasks. What are those, Rob?

Rob: A cognitive task is one that requires

conscious thinking and processing, such

as making decisions and planning. It

doesn’t happen automatically,

you have to think about it. So in the

adolescent years this part of the brain is

not fully developed. Note the adjective

form here of the noun we had earlier

adolescence.

Neil: So this gives a good excuse for not

doing your homework!

Rob: Ha, ha, I wish I’d known that. I used to say

that I’d left my homework on the bus or

that the dog had eaten it. Now I could say,

"Sorry sir, my brain isn’t developed enough

for the cognitive task of planning my homework".

Neil: Yes, I’m sure that would work! Before

we wrap up, time to get the answer to this

week’s question. I asked when was the

word ‘teenager’

first used to refer to the 13 – 19 age

group? Was it:

a) the 1920s, b) the 1930s, c) the 1950s

Rob, you said?

Rob: I guessed c) the 1950s.

Neil: The answer is actually b) the 1930s.

Very well done if you knew that. Now a

quick review of today’s vocabulary.

Rob: Adolescence is the noun for the

period of change from child to adult and

the adjective is adolescent – this same

word is also the noun for someone who is

in that teenage period.

Neil: So an adolescent might be

responsible for adolescent behaviour in

his or her adolescence.

Rob: Exactly.

Neil: Papers is the word for published

scientific research.

Rob: Dogma is strongly held beliefs that

are not challenged.

Neil: The prefrontal cortex is an important

part of the brain which deals with

cognitive tasks.

Rob: And cognitive tasks are mental

processes that require active thought and

consideration, such as planning and

making decisions.

Neil: Well my decision-making skills tell

me that it’s time to finish.

Rob: Well, your skills are working well,

Neil. We may be going now but you don't

need to – you can listen or watch us

again and find lots more Learning English

materials on our social media platforms.

You can also visit our website

at bbclearningenglish.com.

Neil: See you soon, bye.

Rob: Bye!