Final answer:
Adolescence is marked by complex brain changes, such as increased cortical folding, synaptic pruning, and myelination, mainly affecting the prefrontal cortex. These changes underpin advancements in executive functions and cognitive abilities. They also relate to significant cognitive and psychosocial developments, including forming personal identity, moral values, and evolving peer and parental relationships.
Step-by-step explanation:
During adolescence, significant brain changes occur, reflecting the transition from childhood to adulthood. One major change is the increased complexity of the cerebral cortex due to more folds. Another crucial change is synaptic pruning, where unused neural pathways are eliminated, coupled with an increase in myelination, enhancing the brain's efficiency and function. This complex neurological restructuring supports the evolution of executive functions like decision-making, abstract reasoning, and impulse control.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is a focal point of development during adolescence. It's responsible for various executive functions, which include planning, evaluating risks and rewards, and impulse control. As the PFC matures, it contributes to the improvement in cognitive abilities, such as attention, memory, processing speed, and organization. Cognitive development continues into the early 20s, refining capacities like insight and judgment.
These brain developments have a significant impact on cognitive and psychosocial changes in adolescents. As their brain matures, teens experience growth in their sense of personal identity and moral values, shifts in self-esteem and body image awareness, and alterations in their relationships with parents and peers. The burgeoning independence and heightened peer influence characterize this phase, with a noticeable desire to conform to peer groups.