Adolescents and habits

Because of its reconstruction the adolescent brain is at its peak of openness to learning and experiencing. This holds good for harmonious activities as well as for obsessive. The adolescent brain can quickly learn a new language, become ever better in sports and in playing a musical instrument, but can also rapidly train itself to smoke cigarettes or marijuana, drink alcohol or eat junk food. The plasticity of the brain during adolescence is so substantial, that significant IQ changes occur: one third of all youngsters acquire a higher IQ at this age while one third of them significantly lowers their IQ. The adolescent openness to risky and intensely rewarding experiences leaves them more vulnerable to the risk of getting addicted in comparison to adults. Adolescent addictions, in turn, can last throughout the youngsters’ whole lives. The same holds good for mental health problems.