STUDENT HANDOUT:

Teen Brain18 While stress affects all people’s brains, regardless of age, it can have a particularly significant impact on teenagers’ developing brains. We are going to learn a bit about some of the unique things that are happening inside the teen brain – so we can better understand ourselves and what makes us behave the way we do. There are three key parts of the brain that play a role in how we react to stress: Amygdala – “the Security Guard” – is part of the limbic system. It is responsible for basic functions like breathing, swallowing and protecting us from threats with a stress reaction (fight/flight/freeze). The amygdala’s job is to quickly process and express emotions, especially anger and fear. Hippocampus – “the Manager” – helps to manage our response to fear and threats, and acts like a storage vault of learning and memory. Prefrontal cortex – “the Planner” – is the learning, reasoning and thinking part of the brain. It controls decision-making, planning, focusing attention and problem-solving.

Did you know...? The brain’s response to stress is linked to the function of the limbic system, in particular the amygdala, which serves as an information filter which is regulated by our emotional state. When we’re calm, the filter is open and information flows to the prefrontal cortex, where executive functions happen (problem-solving, planning, complex thoughts, attention and focus, discipline, flexible thinking, etc.) When we’re stressed, the filter becomes blocked, and information doesn’t pass from the amygdala to the prefrontal cortex, where our executive functions happen, where we consciously process information, think things through and choose how we will respond. When the filter is blocked by the amygdala, we are stuck in reaction mode: Fight, flight or freeze.

Prefrontal Cortex

Hippocampus

Amygdala

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