The adolescent brain has a lot going on, notes Juliet Davidow. She’s a psychologist — someone who studies the mind — at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. Teen bodies are growing, she says. Their minds are too. A brain "changes just like the rest of the body changes,” she explains.
In a teen’s body, the hands and feet may grow bigger first, leaving the rest of the body to catch up. The brain is no different. Some of its areas mature early. These include the striatum (Stry-AY-tum), which recognizes rewards. The prefrontal cortex, which helps in decision making, matures later.