Brain Development and Adolescent Delinquency

Brain Development and Adolescent Delinquency

From a psychological perspective, adolescence is a tumultuous period of human development. That is primarily that period represents a time when those parts of the brain responsible for rational decision making and appreciation of future consequences of present actions are comparatively underdeveloped. Compounding that issue is the fact that the adolescent brain is simultaneously flooded by the highest levels of the sex hormones that the human body ever produces. In males, adolescence can be a particularly troublesome period because testosterone, the primary sex hormone, is also responsible for aggression and the need to exhibit social status and dominance within the peer group.

In particular, there are three specific regions of the brain that are still underdeveloped in adolescence: the cerebellum, corpus callosum, and prefrontal cortex. Two of those brain regions are believed to contribute greatly to some of the behaviors associated with delinquency in adolescence. The cerebellum is not believed to be essential to any one type of activity or though process; rather it is believed to mediate and coordinate multiple types of brain functions, including the connection between and among logical reasoning, social learning, judgment, and decision making. However, the most important area in terms of the connection between brain development and adolescent delinquency seems to be the prefrontal cortex, located immediately behind the forehead. In many respects, the prefrontal cortex is the "control center" of the human brain because it is substantially responsible for planning, mood modulation, organization, and working memory.