Adolescence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Adolescence - Essay Example dards in the very process, adolescents show higher-order reasoning about the self and its qualities, with peer relations taking precedence away from familial relations in terms of assessing personal competence. They, more often than children use social comparative mechanics while evaluating themselves Several areas of the brain undergo transformative realignment during the transition to adolescence. Among the notable structural changes in the brain during this period include a decrease in gray matter in the prefrontal regions of the brain. These anatomical changes referred to in the medical field as synaptic pruning, kicks off the elimination of unused connections between neurons; a process believably underpins the improvements in basic cognitive abilities and logical reasoning. Another important change in the brain during adolescence is the increased dopaminergic activity in pathways that connect the limbic system. Basically, the dopamine receptors become densely distributed within the prefrontal cortex; regions where emotions are processed and rewards and punishments experienced. Dopamine plays a critical role in the judgment of experiences, thus the explanation for sensation-seeking through experimentation. Finally, there is the increase of white matter in the very same prefrontal cortex of the brain during adolescence via a process known as myelination; the process through which nerve fibers become sheathed in myelin for more efficient neural connectivity within the region. This is an important adjustment for higher-order cognitive functions such as weighing of risks, advanced planning among other complicated decisions. To begin with, children basically interact/play with friends within the vicinity of their environment and/those chosen to them by those around them, mostly their parents. To be specific, such friends are usually close relatives or those from the neighbouring families. Such fiends are generally playmates, with no strings for long-term