Section 2:1 Growth Patterns
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drinking, and sleeping. This system is also
involved in long-term memory storage.
‚ The cortex is the part of the brain that
controls thinking, decision making, and
judgment. This is the part of the brain that
is most often referred to when people talk
about intellectual development. It is divided
into different regions. See the diagram of the
cortex in 2-4 to learn what brain functions
each region controls.
The cortex is also divided in half vertically, so
each of the five regions has a left brain half and a
right brain half. Each half processes information
from a different perspective. The two halves of
the cortex “talk” back and forth to each other
continuously as you take in information and
process it. Together, the two halves help you get
a clear picture of the stimuli you are receiving.
The corpus callosum is the cable of neurons that
connects the two halves of the brain. This cord
appears to change and grow during the teen
years.
The Development of the
Adolescent Brain
The parietal lobe (touch), occipital lobe (vision),
and temporal lobe (language) are quite developed
by the teen years. Your abilities to sense and
process touch, vision, and language stimuli are
mature.
A major growth spurt takes place in the frontal
lobes of the cortex around age 11. This is the part
of the brain responsible for thinking, problem
solving, planning, and making judgments.
Growth spurts also occur between ages 14 and
16 and again between 18 and 20. The frontal
lobes do not fully mature until young adulthood.
Therefore, the teen years are important years in
developing this part of the brain.
After a growth spurt, your brain again starts
to prune the neural connections. The pathways
you use create more dendrite connections with
other parts of your brain. The pathways you do
not use get pruned, and the connections die off.
The physical growth of brain cells and the
connections between them is directly related to
mature intellectual skills. When people develop
intellectually, they can think in abstract ways.
They can use logic and judgment, and are able to
visualize the future.
Cortex
Cerebellum
Brainstem
Midbrain
Limbic System
Side View of Brain
2-3
The side view of the brain shows the three major
areas: the brain stem and cerebellum, which control
movement and motor responses; the limbic system, which
controls emotions and their interactions with other parts of
the brain; and the cortex, which controls thinking, decision
making, and judgment.
Frontal lobe
(thinking)
Temporal lobe
(language)
Parietal lobe
(touch)
Occipital lobe
(vision)
Overview of Cortex
Prefrontal
lobe
(planning)
2-4
The overview of the cortex shows five major regions.
Each controls different brain functions.