A Change of Mind
Teenage behaviour is so different from that of children or adults that it makes you stop and think “ Could this be a clue to how the brain is changing ?” Along with her colleagues Kate Mills and Christian Tamnis , Professor Blakemore scanned the brains of 391 people , children , adults and those in between .
Embarrassment
During the teenage years , people tend to get more embarrassed than any other ages . In early adolescence , self-consciousness peaks . In this fMRI study ( See Box 1 ), the volunteers were told that when a red light comes on , they are being observed .
This , of course , was not true , but they believed it anyway . In teenagers , the embarrassment level rose higher . These volunteers were sweating and had much more activity in the prefrontal cortex than all other ages .