This means teens tend to be find rewards super enticing. At the same time, teens often fail to plan — especially during times of stress.
B.J. Casey is a neuroscientist — someone who studies the brain — at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. The media and the public often depict the teen brain as a defective car, she notes. The describe it as having “no steering wheel and no brakes, just an accelerator.” Many scientists, including Casey, think that metaphor is not fair.