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I gleaned some insight into teen brain development from an online interview with a neuroscientist at NIMH- PBS Fronline Interview with Jay Giedd
The brain is building gray matter [cell bodies of nerve cells] during the beginning years of life- cells and connections are growing. This changes during puberty- the brain begins to carve away gray matter cells that are not being used. This second phase is likened to pruning. What the brain is using will survive and flourish, and what is not used will be chiseled away- like a sculptor chisels away stone to uncover a form beneath it-
“So if a teen is doing music or sports or academics, those are the cells and connections that will be hard-wired. If they’re lying on the couch or playing video games or MTV, those are the cells and connections that are going [to] survive.” [If they are saturated with test prep…]
Pig and Pepper 