Jewish Life Digital Edition October 2015 | Page 21

both the physical pleasure of sensory enjoyment as well as the emotional pleasure of
achievement following effort. It’s thought
that in adolescents, an immature nucleus
accumbens influences a preference for activities that require little effort yet produce
high excitement; a ‘quick rush’ rather than
repeated practise to achieve mastery. The
teenage nucleus accumbens would therefore prioritise activities such as video games
and substance abuse over longer-term
‘highs’ such as marathon training or playing
a musical instrument successfully.
It’s well known that the cerebellum is involved in co-ordination of muscles and
movement. So regular physical practise
would stimulate neuroplastic changes in the
cerebellum, correlating with development of
the skills of a graceful dancer or a well-coordinated athlete. Interestingly, in research on
teenage brains, it has now been shown that
the cerebellum is involved in coordination of
cognitive processes too. This implies that
through training and coaching, adolescent
brains can improve their capacity to prioritise information, solve problems, and interpret complex social cues within their environme