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Adolescence

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By casperseviltwin
Words 1806
Pages 8
Adolescence is often considered a time of confusion, rebellion, and problems. While this can occur, most people emerge from adolescence without any problems and successfully navigate the changes that accompany adolescence. Researchers do seem to agree that there are a lot of changes that take place during adolescence, but it does not always mean that it is an unpleasant time in the lives of humans (Santrock, 2011). As children enter adolescence they will experience neurological, hormonal, and physical changes. It is also important to consider the psychosocial development of adolescents and how it can be influenced by these biological changes as well as the environment that the adolescent is experiencing. Many of the changes that adolescents experience are the result of a combination of factors and the interaction of biology and the environment.
Neurological Changes
Many times the focus on neurological development is during the early childhood years of development. Such rapid changes take place during early childhood, it is many times the focus of clinicians and academics, but very significant changes also take place during adolescence as well (Rutter, 2007). One of the most interesting neurological changes that are observed in adolescents is that the connections between neurons continue to be refined through pruning (Rutter, 2007). The amount of brain matter tends to increase throughout childhood, but a decline in grey matter is found in adolescence due to pruning of the synaptic connections (Rutter, 2007). Pruning is typically discussed as a major event that occurs in early childhood after the proliferation of connections made during infancy (Santrock, 2011). Research indicates that significant pruning and refinement of synaptic connections also occurs during adolescence (Rutter, 2007). As with the pruning that occurs in childhood, the connections that are not

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