At what age do adolescents start to think like adults?

Adolescence is a period of life that marks the transition between childhood and adulthood and is characterized by a series of physical, emotional and social changes that significantly influence the lives of those who experience it.

Psychologically, adolescence is characterized by a roller coaster of feelings. Teenagers struggle to understand their emotions and find their place in the world. They often face pressures and expectations from families, friends and society at large, which can lead to anxiety, rebellion and a search for independence.

This stage of life is essential to the development of executive function, a set of cognitive skills that allow us to plan, organize, make decisions, regulate our emotions, maintain attention, and perform complex tasks . These skills are essential for daily functioning and effective decision-making associated with adult maturity.

According to neuroscientific theory, the human brain undergoes a maturation process during adolescence, particularly in the prefrontal areas. These areas are essential for the control of executive functions, as they are involved in planning, decision-making, emotional control and regulation of attention. During adolescence, changes occur in these areas of the brain that influence the development of executive functions, But at what age does a teenager reach maturity?

A new study Published in Natural communications precisely searched when executive function matures, marking the boundary between adolescence and adulthood. The findings have significant implications not only for psychiatrists and neuroscientists, but also for parents, educators and potentially the justice system in defining the boundaries of the adolescent period.

Yes OK, There are important theories suggesting that adolescents can reach adult levels of executive functions between the ages of 20 and 25. “Such plateaus in developmental change have not been studied in most empirical research and are not testable in commonly used analytical frameworks,” the study notes, debunking the belief that adulthood begins at 25 years.

The study compiled and analyzed the results of four large independent studies create a dataset of over 10,000 participants aged 8 to 35 on 23 different measures of executive function across 17 different tasks. The scientists then analyzed these parameters by following their evolution over time, thus being able to follow the maturation of executive function during adolescence.

Data analysis showed a common dynamic of maturation of executive function shared between the two sexes: a rapid burst of executive function development from late childhood to mid-adolescence (ages 10-15) , followed by minor but significant changes until mid-adolescence. (15-18 years) who stabilized at adult performance level at the end of adolescence (18-20 years).

In this way, The authors conclude that 18 is the age at which executive function reaches full maturity, give adolescents greater capacity for planning and organization, decision-making, emotional self-regulation, attention and concentration.

“When I talk to parents, many of them say, ‘There’s no way my 18-year-old son will become a fully formed adult!'” he said in a statement. Press release lead author Beatriz Luna, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and world-renowned expert in neurocognitive development.

“Other important behavioral factors that complement executive function, such as the ability to control emotions, may change with age. “The ability to use executive functions reliably improves with age and, at least in the laboratory, matures by age 18,” he adds.

During adolescence, the brain undergoes significant changes in the prefrontal areas, particularly in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). It is one of the most developed brain areas in humans and plays a fundamental role in executive functions.

The reason the PFC plays a crucial role in executive functions is due to its location and connections to other parts of the brain. The PFC is interconnected with many brain areas and acts as a sort of control center to coordinate and regulate various cognitive and emotional functions. These connections allow the PFC to influence attention, memory, decision-making, inhibition of impulsive responses, and other skills related to executive functions. When the PFC is affected by injury or dysfunction, deficits in executive functions are observed.

The study notes that the development of executive function in adolescents has been studied in relatively small independent investigations using a wide range of tasks or in relatively large studies using very limited assessments of executive function.

This is why this study is important because it uses large-scale data, with multiple assessments and multiple datasets on the development of executive function in adolescents. “It’s a combination of development science and big data. “We are using tools that were not available several years ago to researchers studying cognitive and brain development,” Tervo-Clemmens, who began the research as a graduate student in Luna’s lab at Pitt, said in a statement.

The results, such as reproducible growth curves across tasks and datasets, could allow researchers to track how therapeutic and pharmacological interventions might affect developmental milestones.

For example, adolescence is the period when many mental illnesses appear, which also lead to problems with executive functions, such as schizophrenia. Mapping the timeline of neurotypical brain development will allow researchers to better track any subtle changes from the “norm” and potentially improve early diagnosis.

Tervo-Clemmens said Think big He and his colleagues plan to continue their research on executive function in adolescents, but in contexts that more closely resemble the real world in everyday situations, such as using smartphone apps, rather than relying only on laboratory tasks.

“This will help us better understand multiple sources of variability, both within and between individuals, and get closer to real-world results,” he says. “We also plan to continue to develop this knowledge to illuminate the emergence of mental health symptoms, which typically first appear during adolescence and may be associated with executive function. »

The study notes that understanding not only whether behaviors change with age, but also their form, is essential for developmental science and corresponding health policies and intervention and prevention strategies for adolescents.