The Teenage Brain Isn't Broken. It's Under Construction
Risk-taking and big emotions are signs of a brain rewiring itself for adulthood, and that process runs into your mid-twenties.
For years, teenage behaviour was blamed on hormones. Brain imaging now shows something more interesting: a major renovation that starts at the back of the brain and finishes at the front.
Brakes arrive last
The regions that drive reward and emotion mature early. The prefrontal cortex, which weighs consequences and controls impulses, is the last to finish, often not until around 25.
Scientists stress this is a feature, not a fault. A brain built to explore and take risks is well suited to learning fast and leaving home.