Journal of Research on Adolescence Essay

Changes involved in puberty as well as the changes in the adolescent brain

Every developmental stage of a human being entails significant changes. These are not only physical but also psychological. Puberty is considered to be the middle phase of development whereby both girls and boys undergo sexual maturity. It usually happens between the age of 10 to 16 and it varies between girls and boys.

The changes occurring in puberty vary with the gender. In boys, the noticeable changes include development of facial hair which usually sets up at around the age of 15. At the age of 11 they begin developing pubic hair and their voices begins to break as their muscles enlarge. Journal of Research on Adolescence Essay. Acne also may appear at the age of 14 as well as the onset of armpit hair (Goddings et al., 2019). On the other hand, girls tend to develop breasts and experience their initial periods. This usually occurs from the age of 9 to 11.the uterus and the pelvic girdle becomes larger and the body distributes fat around their bottoms. Pubic hair also begins to develop as well as hair under the armpit. Like boys, they might also develop acne, begin to sweat and increase in height at this stage of development.

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During puberty, brain changes also occur. Adolescents often rely on the amygdala part of the brain during problem solving and decision making. This is attributed to the still dev eloping prefrontal cortex. Frontal lobe synthesis of myelin is experienced during puberty which is believed to influence cognitive processes (Laube, Van den Bos & Fandakova, 2020). The limbic system also undergoes significant changes that affect the emotional, risk-taking, decision-making and self-control behaviors of adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence Essay.

References

Goddings, A. L., Beltz, A., Peper, J. S., Crone, E. A., & Braams, B. R. (2019). Understanding the role of puberty in structural and functional development of the adolescent brain. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 29(1), 32-53.

Laube, C., van den Bos, W., & Fandakova, Y. (2020). The relationship between pubertal hormones and brain plasticity: Implications for cognitive training in adolescence. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 42, 100753. Journal of Research on Adolescence Essay.