Teenagers’ brains actually shut down when their parents are talking to them, says science indy100 indy100 Indy100 logoNewsletter sign upRegister/Sign inTop 100NewsViralPoliticsCelebritiesScience & TechVideoWishlistWishlistBooksFashion & BeautyFood & DrinkHome & GardenKidsSports & FitnessTechTravel & OutdoorsMoreScience & techVideoConversationsSportIdentitiesLifestyleShowbizTVSearchxNews

Teenagers brains actually shut down when their parents are talking to them says science

Evan BartlettNov 28, 2014 (Picture: Hat Trick Productions) Neuroscientists have found that a teenager's brain shows decreased activity when listening to criticism from their mother. Publishing their results in the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience journal, leading researchers from Harvard, Berkeley and the University of Pittsburgh found that "youth shut down social processing [and] possibly do not think about their parents’ mental states". The researchers took a group of 34 teens and pre-teens and studied their brain activity while they listened to a 30 second recording of their own mother "nagging" and then a second recording of their mother talking about something mundane like grocery shopping. Three sets of neural processes were expected - activating emotional reactions, regulating those reactions and social cognitive processing. When listening to criticism the teenagers' showed more activity in areas of the brain that deal with negative emotions but less activity in areas that handle emotional control and empathy. They conclude by saying that: Parents may benefit from understanding that when they criticize their adolescents, adolescents may experience strong negative emotional reaction, may have difficulty cognitively controlling this emotion and may also find it challenging to understand the parent’s perspective or mental state. More: Scientists believe they have found a dementia 'weak spot' in the brainKeep reading...Show less

US actors Reynolds and McElhenney to be honoured by people of Wales

How will the next prime minister and Tory leader be chosen

Ellis-Bextor to get the party started at new show for Edinburgh s Hogmanay

Please log in or register to upvote this article

Top 100

Man endures ' 29 hour flight' with screaming kids for the entire trip

flightplanechildflightOct 12, 2022

How likely is it that Boris Johnson could be prime minister again

Boris Johnsonboris johnsontory leadership contesttory leadership racetory leaderTory leadershiptory leadershipConservativesconservative partyConservative Partyconservative leadership raceconservativesBoris JohnsonOct 21, 2022

The Rocky career of Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnsonthe rockblack adamwweDwayne JohnsonOct 21, 2022

Lorraine Kelly hits out at Madonna' s ' boiled egg' face

madonnamadonnalorraine kellygmbshowbizplastic surgeryOct 11, 2022

Elon Musk is actually selling a ' Burnt Hair' fragrance

elon muskthe boring companyperfumeelon muskburnt hairOct 12, 2022

Jon Stewart slams Arkansas attorney general for her ' anti-trans law'

lgbt+transgenderlgbt+jon stewartapple tvarkansasus newsnewsOct 11, 2022

Just Stop Oil protester praised for ' great' explanation of soup stunt

just stop oilvan goghprotestclimate activistsjust stop oilOct 19, 2022

Couple spark debate for ' scandalous' wedding cake topper

wedding caketiktokwedding cakeviralOct 12, 2022

Love Island star shows extent of how far influencers edit photos

Love IslandOct 11, 2022

Steven Seagal describes Putin as one of ' greatest world leaders'

steven seagalOct 10, 2022

Lizzo wears empowering shirt after being fat-shamed by Kanye West

lizzoOct 10, 2022

A lettuce just outlasted Liz Truss' stint as prime minister

Liz TrussOct 20, 2022

Newsnight guest says ' you can' t treat mortgages like prime ministers'

Liz TrussOct 20, 2022

The best memes about Suella Braverman ' departing' as home secretary

suella bravermanOct 19, 2022The Conversation (0)