Bad behaviour could be caused by degeneration in brain cells says researcher

RESEARCH into the teenage brain could prove that poor behaviour is partly caused by a temporary degeneration in the way the grey cells operate.
A project by a neuroscience researcher at University College London (UCL) claims to have found a trend in the development of the teenage brain that may explain bad behaviour, poor decision making and lack of empathy.
American scientists recently discovered our brains keep developing well into our 20s and Suparna Choudhury, 24, of Chalk Farm, has decided to research the brain herself.
Ms Choudhury said: “We looked into perspective taking and thought about another person’s emotional perspective. We used a laptop task in Camden schools to measure the performance of different ages.”
A 120-question interactive test was taken to St Dominic’s primary and Acland Burghley secondary schools and UCL students. Ms Choudhury, who recently gave a conference in New York, said: “It was amazing how responsive the primary kids were – they were so aware.”
The results showed pre-teens were as good as adults at perspective taking but there was a significant dip in the teenagers’ performance when they were asked to identify with others. Ms Choudhury said: “It is very interesting to find that teenagers get worse at a social cognitive task – it might be modelling every day life.”
She attributed the findings to a burst of growth in the frontal area of the teenage brain – the area associated with behaviour, decision making and empathy.
Ms Choudhury said the problem was complex and that psychological issues should not be considered in isolation to social behaviour.
She said there was little dialogue between criminologists and psychologists. “Policy makers need to take into account that the brain is still developing during teenage years – it raises the question of how responsible teenagers are for their actions,” she said.
Ms Choudhury added that the study had relevance to the increasing number of anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) that were being imposed on youngsters. “Asbos seem to be nothing but an election winner,” she said.