Scientists Try to Figure Out Why Teenagers Act Crazy
Have you seen the fire challenge? It’s a YouTube and social media challenge where people light parts of their body on fire for Internet fame and fortune. That’s a picture of it above, taken from one of the more infamous videos. It’s okay if you don’t believe me, no one in their right mind would set themselves on fire just to make a video, right? Well, no one but teenagers, who make up most of the fire challenge participants. Their minds are different. Scientists have recently compiled a study of just how different that might help understand why teenagers, especially teenage boys, are drawn to extremely risky behavior. Florida State University College of Medicine Neuroscientist Pradeep Bhide brought together 19 separate studies of the teenage brain from various scientific disciplines for a special volume of Developmental Neuroscience, “Teenage Brains: Think Different?” Here’s a summary of some of the findings, according to a press release: • Unlike children or adults, teenage boys show enhanced activity in the part of the brain that controls emotions when confronted with