Sarah-Jayne Blakemore: The mysterious workings of the adolescent brain

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Sasa Ilovar Reviewer: Andreja Benčina

Fifteen years ago, it was widely assumed

Pred petnajstimi leti so domnevali,

that the vast majority of brain development

da obsežen del razvoja možganov

takes place in the first few years of life.

poteka v prvih nekaj letih življenja.

Back then, 15 years ago, we didn't have the ability

Takrat, pred 15 leti, nismo imeli možnosti

to look inside the living human brain

pogledati v možgane živega človeka

and track development across the lifespan.

in slediti njihovemu razvoju tekom življenja.

In the past decade or so, mainly due to advances

V preteklem desetletju, predvsem zaradi napredka tehnologij slikanja možganov,

in brain imaging technology

such as magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI,

kot je slikanje z magnetno resonanco ali MR,

neuroscientists have started to look inside the living

so nevroznanstveniki začeli raziskovati delovanje možganov

human brain of all ages, and to track changes

živih ljudi vseh starosti in slediti spremembam

in brain structure and brain function,

v strukturi in delovanju možganov.

so we use structural MRI if you'd like to take a snapshot,

Uporabljamo strukturne MR, da naredimo posnetek,

a photograph, at really high resolution of the inside

fotografijo, res visoke ločljivosti,

notranjosti možganov živega človeka, in si zastavimo vprašanja kot,

of the living human brain, and we can ask questions like,

how much gray matter does the brain contain,

koliko sivine imajo možgani

and how does that change with age?

in kako se spreminja s starostjo?

And we also use functional MRI, called fMRI,

In uporabljamo tudi funkcionalno MR, okrajšano fMR,

to take a video, a movie, of brain activity

da posnamemo video, film, delovanja možganov,

when participants are taking part in some kind of task

ko udeleženci opravljajo kako nalogo,

like thinking or feeling or perceiving something.

kot je razmišljanje ali občutenje ali zaznava nečesa.

So many labs around the world are involved in this kind

Veliko laboratorijev po svetu je vključenih v take raziskave

of research, and we now have a really rich

in sedaj imamo že res bogato

and detailed picture of how the living human brain develops,

in natančno sliko o tem, kako se razvijajo človeški možgani

and this picture has radically changed the way

in ta slika je korenito spremenila naš pogled na razvoj človeških možganov

we think about human brain development

by revealing that it's not all over in early childhood,

z razkritjem, da se le-to ne konča v zgodnjem otroštvu,

and instead, the brain continues to develop

možgani se namreč še naprej razvijajo

right throughout adolescence and into the '20s and '30s.

tudi skozi adolescenco in vse v 20. in 30. leta.

So adolescence is defined as the period of life that starts

Adolescenca je opredeljena kot življenjsko obdobje,

ki se začne z biološkimi, hormonskimi, fizičnimi spremembami pubertete

with the biological, hormonal, physical changes of puberty

and ends at the age at which an individual attains

in konča pri starosti, v kateri posameznik doseže

a stable, independent role in society.

stabilno, neodvisno vlogo v družbi.

(Laughter)

(smeh)

It can go on a long time. (Laughter)

Lahko traja dolgo časa. (Smeh)

One of the brain regions that changes most dramatically

Eden izmed možganskih predelov, ki se najbolj dramatično spremeni

during adolescence is called prefrontal cortex.

tekom adolescence, se imenuje prefrontalna skorja.

So this is a model of the human brain,

To je model človeških možganov

and this is prefrontal cortex, right at the front.

in to je prefrontalna skorja, čisto spredaj.

Prefrontal cortex is an interesting brain area.

Prefrontalna skorja je zanimivo področje možganov.

It's proportionally much bigger in humans than

Pri ljudeh je sorazmerno veliko večje

in any other species, and it's involved in a whole range of

kot pri drugih živalskih vrstah in je vpleteno v celo vrsto

high level cognitive functions, things like decision-making,

miselnih funkcij na visoki ravni, kot so odločanje,

planning, planning what you're going to do tomorrow

načrtovanje, načrtovanje jutrišnjega dne ali naslednjega tedna ali leta,

or next week or next year, inhibiting

zaviranje neprimernega vedenja, ko se ustavite preden rečete

inappropriate behavior, so stopping yourself saying

something really rude or doing something really stupid.

nekaj res nesramnega ali naredili nekaj zelo neumnega.

It's also involved in social interaction,

Sodeluje v družbenih interakcijah, razumevanju drugih ljudi in samozavedanju.

understanding other people, and self-awareness.

So MRI studies looking at the development of this region

MR študije, ki so proučevale razvoj tega področja,

have shown that it really undergoes dramatic development

so pokazale, da je res podvrženo dramatičnemu razvoju

during the period of adolescence.

v obdobju adolescence.

So if you look at gray matter volume, for example,

Če pogledamo volumen sivine, na primer,

gray matter volume across age from age four to 22 years

se le-ta v starostnem obdobju od 4 do 22 let

increases during childhood, which is what you can see

povečuje v otroštvu, kar lahko vidite na tem grafu.

on this graph. It peaks in early adolescence.

Vrh doseže v zgodnji adolescenci.

The arrows indicate peak gray matter volume

Puščice kažejo maksimalno količino sivih celic v prefrontalni skorji.

in prefrontal cortex. You can see that that peak happens

Vidite lahko, da se vrh pri fantih zgodi nekaj let kasneje kot pri dekletih,

a couple of years later in boys relative to girls,

and that's probably because boys go through puberty

verjetno zato, ker so fantje v puberteti v povprečju nekaj let kasneje kot dekleta,

a couple of years later than girls on average,

and then during adolescence, there's a significant decline

in nato v adolescenci pomembno upade volumen sive snovi v prefrontalni skorji.

in gray matter volume in prefrontal cortex.

Now that might sound bad, but actually this is

To lahko zveni slabo, ampak dejansko gre za zelo pomemben razvojni proces,

a really important developmental process, because

gray matter contains cell bodies and connections

saj možganska sivina vsebuje telesa celic in povezave

between cells, the synapses, and this decline

med celicami — sinapse — in to zmanjšanje volumna sive snovi v prefrontalni skorji

in gray matter volume during prefrontal cortex

is thought to correspond to synaptic pruning,

verjetno ustreza “obrezovanju” sinaps,

the elimination of unwanted synapses.

odpravi neželenih sinaps.

This is a really important process. It's partly dependent

To je zelo pomemben proces.

Delno je odvisen od okolja, v katerem je žival ali človek —

on the environment that the animal or the human is in,

and the synapses that are being used are strengthened,

sinapse, ki se uporabljajo, se okrepijo,

and synapses that aren't being used

sinapse, ki pa se ne uporabljajo v tistem okolju, so odstranjene.

in that particular environment are pruned away.

You can think of it a bit like pruning a rosebush.

To si lahko predstavljate kot obrezovanje vrtnic.

You prune away the weaker branches so that

Obrežete šibkejše veje zato,

the remaining, important branches, can grow stronger,

da preostale, pomembnejše veje, lahko rastejo močneje,

and this process, which effectively fine-tunes brain tissue

in ta proces, ki učinkovito fino uglasi možgansko tkivo

according to the species-specific environment,

glede na okolje, specifično za vrsto,

is happening in prefrontal cortex and in other brain regions

se dogaja v prefrontalni skorji in v drugih področjih

during the period of human adolescence.

v obdobju človeške adolescence.

So a second line of inquiry that we use to track changes

Druga vrsta preiskav, za spremljanje sprememb

in the adolescent brain is using functional MRI

v možganih najstnikov, je funkcionalna MR

to look at changes in brain activity across age.

za proučevanje sprememb v dejavnosti možganov tekom let.

So I'll just give you an example from my lab.

To je primer iz mojega laboratorija.

So in my lab, we're interested in the social brain, that is

Torej, v mojem laboratoriju nas zanimajo socialni možgani,

the network of brain regions that we use to understand

to je mreža možganskih regij, ki jih uporabljamo za razumevanje

other people and to interact with other people.

drugih ljudi in za interakcijo z njimi.

So I like to show a photograph of a soccer game

Rada pokažem fotografijo nogometne tekme

to illustrate two aspects of how your social brains work.

za ponazoritev dveh vidikov, kako vaši socialni možgani delujejo.

So this is a soccer game. (Laughter)

To je torej nogometna tekma.

Michael Owen has just missed a goal, and he's lying

Michael Owen je ravno zgrešil gol in leži na tleh in prvi vidik socialnih možganov,

on the ground, and the first aspect of the social brain

that this picture really nicely illustrates is how automatic

ki ga ta slika res lepo ponazarja je, kako avtomatični

and instinctive social emotional responses are,

in nagonski so socialni čustveni odzivi,

so within a split second of Michael Owen missing this goal,

ko v delčku sekunde po tem, ko Michael Owen zgreši gol,

everyone is doing the same thing with their arms

vsi delajo isto stvar s svojimi rokami in imajo isti izraz, celo Michael Owen,

and the same thing with their face, even Michael Owen

as he slides along the grass, is doing the same thing

ko drsi po travi, dela isto z rokami in verjetno ima podoben izraz na obrazu

with his arms, and presumably has a similar

facial expression, and the only people who don't

in edini ljudje, ki tega ne počnejo, so moški v rumenem zadaj (smeh)

are the guys in yellow at the back — (Laughs) —

and I think they're on the wrong end of the stadium,

in mislim, da so na napačnem koncu stadiona

and they're doing another social emotional response

in izvajajo drug socialni čustveni odziv,

that we all instantly recognize, and that's the second aspect

ki ga vsi takoj prepoznamo, in to je drugi vidik

of the social brain that this picture really nicely illustrates,

socialnih možganov, ki ga ta slika res lepo ponazarja,

how good we are at reading other people's behavior,

kako dobri smo pri branju vedenja drugih ljudi,

their actions, their gestures, their facial expressions,

njihovih dejanj, njihovih gest, njihove obrazne mimike,

in terms of their underlying emotions and mental states.

v smislu njihovih osnovnih čustev in mentalnih stanj.

So you don't have to ask any of these guys.

Torej teh moških ni treba vprašati.

You have a pretty good idea of what they're feeling

Imate zelo dobro predstavo o tem, kaj čutijo

and thinking at this precise moment in time.

in razmišljajo točno v tem trenutku.

So that's what we're interested in looking at in my lab.

To nas zanima v mojem laboratoriju.

So in my lab, we bring adolescents and adults into the lab

V mojem laboratoriju pripeljemo mladostnike in odrasle v laboratorij,

to have a brain scan, we give them some kind of task

da jim slikamo možgane, damo jim neko nalogo,

that involves thinking about other people, their minds,

ki vključuje razmišljanje o drugih ljudeh, njihovih mislih,

their mental states, their emotions, and one of the findings

duševnem stanju, njihovih čustvih, in ena od najdb,

that we've found several times now, as have other labs

ki smo jo že večkrat dobili, tako kot tudi drugi laboratoriji po svetu,

around the world, is part of the prefrontal cortex called

je del prefrontalne skorje,

medial prefrontal cortex, which is shown in blue on the slide,

imenovan medialna prefrontalna skorja, ki je prikazana z modro,

and it's right in the middle of prefrontal cortex

in je prav v sredini prefrontalne skorje,

in the midline of your head.

v sredinski osi glave.

This region is more active in adolescents when they make

Ta del je bolj aktiven pri mladostnikih, ko sprejemajo te družbene odločitve

these social decisions and think about other people

in razmišljajo o drugih ljudeh, kot pa pri odraslih,

than it is in adults, and this is actually a meta-analysis

in to je pravzaprav meta-analiza

of nine different studies in this area from labs around

devetih različnih študij na tem področju iz laboratorijev z vsega sveta

the world, and they all show the same thing, that activity

in vsi kažejo isto, da dejavnost v tej medialni prefrontalni skorji

in this medial prefrontal cortex area decreases

v obdobju adolescence upade.

during the period of adolescence.

And we think that might be because adolescents and adults

Menimo, da je to lahko zato, ker mladostniki in odrasli

use a different mental approach, a different

uporabijo drugačen miselni pristop,

drugačno kognitivno strategijo, za socialne odločitve

cognitive strategy, to make social decisions,

and one way of looking at that is to do behavioral studies

in en način proučevanja tega so vedenjske študije,

ko v laboratorij pripeljemo ljudi in jim damo neke vrste vedenjsko nalogo,

whereby we bring people into the lab and we give them

some kind of behavioral task, and I'll just give you

another example of the kind of task that we use in my lab.

in dala vam bom še en primer, kakšne naloge uporabljamo v mojem laboratoriju.

So imagine that you're the participant in one of our

Predstavljajte si, da ste udeleženec v enem od naših eksperimentov.

experiments. You come into the lab,

Prišli ste v laboratorij in vidite računalniško nalogo.

you see this computerized task.

In this task, you see a set of shelves.

V nalogi boste videli niz polic.

Now, there are objects on these shelves, on some of them,

Na nekaterih izmed teh polic so predmeti,

and you'll notice there's a guy standing behind the set

in opazili boste, da za temi policami stoji moški,

of shelves, and there are some objects that he can't see.

ki zaradi tega nekaterih predmetov ne more videti.

They're occluded, from his point of view, with a kind of

Z mesta, od koder gleda, so mu zakriti z nekakšnim sivim kosom lesa.

gray piece of wood.

This is the same set of shelves from his point of view.

To je isti niz polic iz njegovega zornega kota.

Notice that there are only some objects that he can see,

Vidite, da je le nekaj predmetov, ki jih on lahko vidi,

whereas there are many more objects that you can see.

vi pa, na drugi strani, lahko vidite veliko več.

Now your task is to move objects around.

Vaša naloga je, da premikate predmete naokrog.

The director, standing behind the set of shelves,

Usmerjevalec, ki stoji za policami, vas bo usmerjal, kako premikajte predmete,

is going to direct you to move objects around,

but remember, he's not going to ask you to move objects

a zapomnite si, ne bo rekel, da premaknite predmete, ki jih ne more videti.

that he can't see. This introduces a really interesting

To povzroči zelo zanimivo situacijo, v kateri nastane neke vrste konflikt

condition whereby there's a kind of conflict

between your perspective and the director's perspective.

med vašo in usmerjevalčevo perspektivo,

So imagine he tells you to move the top truck left.

Predstavljajte si, da vam reče, da premaknite vrhnji tovornjak v levo.

There are three trucks there. You're going to instinctively

Trije tovornjaki so tam. Nagonsko boste posegli po belem tovornjaku,

go for the white truck, because that's the top truck

ker je ta na vrhu v vaši perspektivi, nato pa se morate spomniti:

from your perspective, but then you have to remember,

"Oh, he can't see that truck, so he must mean

"O, on ne more videti tega tovornjaka, zato mi je verjetno naročil,

me to move the blue truck," which is the top truck

naj premaknem moder tovornjak,” ki je vrhnji tovornjak z njegove perspektive.

from his perspective. Now believe it or not,

Verjemite ali ne, normalni, zdravi inteligentni odrasli, kot ste vi,

normal, healthy, intelligent adults like you make errors

naredijo napako v približno 50% primerov podobnih preizkusov.

about 50 percent of the time on that kind of trial.

They move the white truck instead of the blue truck.

Premaknejo beli tovornjak namesto modrega.

So we give this kind of task to adolescents and adults,

Takšno nalogo damo mladostnikom in odraslim in vključimo tudi kontrolno stanje,

and we also have a control condition

where there's no director and instead we give people a rule.

ko ni nobenega usmerjevalca in namesto tega damo ljudem pravilo.

We tell them, okay, we're going to do exactly the same thing

Rečemo jim, v redu, naredili bomo točno isto stvar, vendar tokrat ni usmerjevalca.

but this time there's no director. Instead you've got to

ignore objects with the dark gray background.

Namesto tega morate prezreti predmete s temno sivim ozadjem.

You'll see that this is exactly the same condition, only

Videli boste, da je to popolnoma enako stanje, z razliko,

in the no-director condition they just have to remember

da si morajo v situaciji brez usmerjevalca zapomniti,

to apply this somewhat arbitrary rule, whereas

da upoštevajo nekoliko arbitrarno pravilo,

in the director condition, they have to remember

medtem ko si morajo v pogojih z usmerjevalcem zapomniti,

to take into account the director's perspective

da upoštevajo perspektivo usmerjevalca

in order to guide their ongoing behavior.

in preko le-te usmeriti svoje vedenje.

Okay, so if I just show you the percentage errors

OK, če vam kar pokažem odstotke napak

in a large developmental study we did,

v veliki razvojni študiji, ki smo jo izvedli,

this is in a study ranging from age seven to adulthood,

to je v študiji z ljudmi od starosti sedem let do odrasle dobe –

and what you're going to see is the percentage errors

kar boste videli, je odstotek napak v skupini odraslih v obeh pogojih,

in the adult group in both conditions,

so the gray is the director condition, and you see

siva predstavlja situacijo z usmerjevalcem,

in kot vidite, naši inteligentni odrasli naredijo napako v približno 50%,

that our intelligent adults are making errors about 50 percent

of the time, whereas they make far fewer errors

medtem ko naredijo veliko manj napak, ko usmerjevalec ni prisoten

when there's no director present, when they just have

to remember that rule of ignoring the gray background.

in si morajo zapomniti samo tisto pravilo o ignoriranju sivega ozadja.

Developmentally, these two conditions develop

Gledano z razvojnega stališča se ta dva pogoja razvijeta na točno enak način.

in exactly the same way. Between late childhood

Med koncem otroštva in sredino adolescence se pojavi izboljšanje,

and mid-adolescence, there's an improvement,

in other words a reduction of errors, in both of these trials,

z drugimi besedami, manjše število napak v obeh študijah in v obeh pogojih.

in both of these conditions.

But it's when you compare the last two groups,

Ko pa primerjamo zadnji dve skupini, mladostnike sredi adolescence in odrasle,

the mid-adolescent group and the adult group

where things get really interesting, because there, there is

postane res zanimivo, zato ker med njimi

no continued improvement in the no-director condition.

ne opazimo nadaljnjega izboljšanja v pogoju brez usmerjevalca.

In other words, everything you need to do in order to

Z drugimi besedami, vse, kar potrebujete,

remember the rule and apply it seems to be fully developed

da si zapomnite pravilo in ga upoštevate, se zdi popolnoma razvito

by mid-adolescence, whereas in contrast,

do sredine adolescence.

V nasprotju s tem pa, če pogledate zadnja dva siva stolpca,

if you look at the last two gray bars, there's still

še vedno opazimo znatno izboljšanje v pogoju z usmerjevalcem

a significant improvement in the director condition

between mid-adolescence and adulthood, and what

med sredino adolescence in odraslo dobo,

this means is that the ability to take into account someone

kar pomeni, da se sposobnost, da upoštevamo perspektivo nekoga drugega,

else's perspective in order to guide ongoing behavior,

ko usmerjamo svoje obnašanje,

which is something, by the way, that we do in everyday life all

kar, mimogrede, v vsakdanjem življenju počnemo ves čas,

the time, is still developing in mid-to-late adolescence.

še vedno razvija v srednjem do poznem delu adolescence.

So if you have a teenage son or a daughter and you

Torej, če imate najstnika ali najstnico

sometimes think they have problems taking other people's

in si včasih mislite, da imajo težave razumeti perspektive drugih,

perspectives, you're right. They do. And this is why.

imate prav. Imajo. In tu je razlog.

So we sometimes laugh about teenagers.

Tako se včasih smejemo najstnikom.

They're parodied, sometimes even demonized in the media

So tarča parodij, včasih so tudi negativno prikazani v medijih

for their kind of typical teenage behavior. They take risks,

zaradi svojega tipičnega najstniškega obnašanja.

they're sometimes moody, they're very self-conscious.

Tvegajo, so včasih muhasti, so zelo samozavestni.

I have a really nice anecdote from a friend of mine

Imam res prijetno anekdoto mojega prijatelja,

who said that the thing he noticed most

ki je dejal, da je bila stvar, ki jo je najbolj opazil

about his teenage daughters before and after puberty

pri svojih najstniških hčerah pred in po puberteti,

was their level of embarrassment in front of him.

njihova stopnja zadrege pred njim.

So, he said, "Before puberty, if my two daughters

Rekel je: "Pred puberteto, če sta se moji dve hčeri hecali v trgovini, sem rekel:

were messing around in a shop, I'd say, 'Hey,

stop messing around and I'll sing your favorite song,'

'Hej, nehajta in zapel bom vajino najljubšo pesem,'

and instantly they'd stop messing around and he'd sing

in takoj sta nehali, on pa je zapel njuno najljubšo pesem.

their favorite song. After puberty, that became the threat.

Po puberteti pa je to postala grožnja.

(Laughter)

(smeh)

The very notion of their dad singing in public

Sama ideja, da njun oče poje v javnosti,

was enough to make them behave.

je bila dovolj, da sta se lepo obnašali.

So people often ask,

Ljudje pogosto vprašajo:

"Well, is adolescence a kind of recent phenomenon?

"No, je adolescenca nekakšen nedaven fenomen?

Is it something we've invented recently in the West?"

Je to nekaj, kar smo pred kratkim izumili na zahodu?"

And actually, the answer is probably not. There are lots

In v resnici je odgovor verjetno ne.

Obstaja veliko opisov adolescence v zgodovini,

of descriptions of adolescence in history that sound

very similar to the descriptions we use today.

ki zvenijo zelo podobno opisom, ki jih uporabljamo danes.

So there's a famous quote by Shakespeare from "The Winter's Tale"

Znan je slavni citat Shakespeara iz "Zimske pravljice",

where he describes adolescence as follows:

kjer opisuje adolescenco takole:

"I would there were no age between ten and

"Želim si, da ne bi bilo starosti med deset in triindvajset

three-and-twenty, or that youth would sleep out the rest;

ali da bi mladina prespala ta del;

for there is nothing in the between but getting wenches

kajti nič ni vmes, razen dobivanje dekel z otrokom,

with child, wronging the ancientry, stealing, fighting." (Laughter)

sramotenje prednikov, kraja, boj."

He then goes on to say, "Having said that, would any

Nato nadaljuje: "Kljub temu pa, ali bi kdorkoli drug kot ti kuhani možgani

but these boiled brains of nineteen and two-and-twenty

devetnajst- in dvaindvajsetletnikov lovili v tem vremenu?"

hunt in this weather?" (Laughter)

So almost 400 years ago, Shakespeare was portraying

Torej, skoraj 400 let nazaj je Shakespeare mladostnike opisoval

adolescents in a very similar light to the light that we

v zelo podobni luči, kot jih prikazujemo danes,

portray them in today, but today we try to understand

z razliko, da danes poskušamo razumeti njihovo obnašanje v smislu sprememb,

their behavior in terms of the underlying changes

that are going on in their brain.

ki se dogajajo v njihovih možganih.

So for example, take risk-taking. We know that adolescents

Tako za primer vzemimo tveganje. Vemo, da so najstniki nagnjeni k tveganju.

have a tendency to take risks. They do.

They take more risks than children or adults,

Pripravljeni so tvegati bolj kot otroci ali odrasli, še posebno takrat,

and they are particularly prone to taking risks

when they're with their friends. There's an important drive

ko so s svojimi prijatelji. Pojavi se pomembno gonilo,

to become independent from one's parents

postati neodvisen od staršev in očarati svoje prijatelje.

and to impress one's friends in adolescence.

But now we try to understand that in terms of

Zdaj pa se potrudimo to razumeti z vidika

the development of a part of their brain called the limbic system,

razvoja dela možganov imenovanega limbični sistem.

so I'm going to show you the limbic system in red

Limbični sistem vam bom pokazala označen rdeče

in the slide behind me, and also on this brain.

na diapozitivu za mano, pa tudi na teh možganih.

So the limbic system is right deep inside the brain,

Limbični sistem je zelo globoko v možganih

and it's involved in things like emotion processing

in je vključen v stvari, kot so procesiranje čustev

and reward processing. It gives you the rewarding feeling

in nagrajevanja. Povzroča vam občutek zadovoljstva,

out of doing fun things, including taking risks.

ko počnete zabavne stvari, vključno s tveganim vedenjem.

It gives you the kick out of taking risks.

Povzroča užitek, kadar tvegate.

And this region, the regions within the limbic system,

In to področje znotraj limbičnega sistema

have been found to be hypersensitive to the rewarding

se je pokazalo za hiper-občutljivo za občutek zadovoljstva

feeling of risk-taking in adolescents compared with adults,

ob tveganju pri mladostnikih v primerjavi z odraslimi,

and at the very same time, the prefrontal cortex,

in istočasno je prefrontalna skorja tista,

which you can see in blue in the slide here,

ki jo lahko vidite označeno modro na diapozitivih,

which stops us taking excessive risks,

ki nas ustavi, da ne tvegamo preveč, v adolescenci v pomembnem obdobju razvoja.

is still very much in development in adolescents.

So brain research has shown that the adolescent brain

Možganske raziskave so pokazale, da gredo možgani najstnikov

undergoes really quite profound development,

skozi zelo pomemben razvoj,

and this has implications for education, for rehabilitation,

kar ima vpliva na izobraževanje, rehabilitacijo

and intervention. The environment, including teaching,

in za intervencije. Okolje, vključno s poučevanjem,

can and does shape the developing adolescent brain,

lahko in tudi res oblikuje razvijajoče se najstniške možgane,

and yet it's only relatively recently that we have been

pa vendar smo šele pred kratkim začeli

routinely educating teenagers in the West.

z rutinskim izobraževanjem najstnikov na zahodu.

All four of my grandparents, for example, left school

Vsi štirje od mojih starih staršev, na primer, so pustili šolo

in their early adolescence. They had no choice.

v zgodnji adolescenci. Niso imeli izbire.

And that's still the case for many, many teenagers

Isto še vedno velja za veliko najstnikov po vsem svetu dandanes.

around the world today. Forty percent of teenagers

Štirideset odstotkov najstnikov nima dostopa do srednješolskega izobraževanja.

don't have access to secondary school education.

And yet, this is a period of life where the brain is

In vendar je to obdobje življenja, ko so možgani še posebno prilagodljivi in voljni.

particularly adaptable and malleable.

It's a fantastic opportunity for learning and creativity.

To je čudovita priložnost za učenje in ustvarjalnost.

So what's sometimes seen as the problem

Torej, kar je včasih videti kot problem z mladostniki -

with adolescents — heightened risk-taking, poor impulse

povečano nagnjenje k tveganju, slaba kontrola impulzov,

control, self-consciousness — shouldn't be stigmatized.

samozavest – ne bi smelo biti stigmatizirano.

It actually reflects changes in the brain that provide

Vse to dejansko odraža spremembe v možganih,

ki ponujajo odlično priložnost za izobraževanje

an excellent opportunity for education

and social development. Thank you. (Applause)

in družbeni razvoj. Hvala!

(Aplavz)

(Applause)