It's All About Instant Gratification for Teenage Brains

Teenagers tend to become easily impatient and impulsive. However, it is now clear why they wish to acquire everything immediately, according to dailymail. Even while their brain structures are different, they can't delay and wait for things much longer. In a study led by Berlin's Max Planck Institute, teenagers seemed to respond faster to on-the-spot rewards even as impatience came down with advancing years.

Hence, while they are more concerned with immediate rewards, they are involved with the immediate present---not the future.

Adolescence is a developmental period associated with an increase in impulsivity, which is a multidimensional construct, according to medicalexpress.

In a study of 50 subjects between eight and 25 years, researchers found that impatience, as well as an inclination for immediate payments rose in early adolescence, but the 'future orientation' rose with age.

Impulsivity in teenage brains increased even as neuronal connections grew in the front part of the brain, called the dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex.

The authors said "our behavioral and imaging results suggest that it is mainly increased control, not sensitivity to immediate rewards, that drives developmental reductions in impatience."

The impulsivity could lead to undesirable behavior. Hospitals tend to admit large hordes of teenagers due to accidents and addiction to alcohol and drugs.

Hence, most teenagers are open to "risky situations including cars, alcohol, drugs and sexual activity." Experts are clear that the role of impulsivity needs to be better understood.

The researchers, led by Wouter van den Bos of the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, said further research is needed to investigate the role peer pressure plays in impulsivity.

The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.