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The Teenage Brain Summary

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Mascarelli, Amanda Leigh. "The Teenage Brain." Student Science. Society for Students & the
Public, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
This article provides research about the teenage brain complexity and why teens make questionable decisions. Mascarelli describes how teens make their decisions with scientific studies and reasoning. Teens are known to be curious, because they explore their options and push limits. A chemical known as dopamine is a major reason as to why teens make unreasonable decisions. Dopamine is released when something makes an individual feel good and levels of dopamine rise during adolescence. When a teen is presented with risky decisions, scientists have seen that a part in the brain known as the ventral striatum kicks …show more content…

Mascarelli supports all of her reasoning with evidence, and when she and her colleagues experiment, they draw accurate conclusions. The use of ethos is relevant because of its ethnical appeal and is demonstrated throughout the article when she mentions experts, Beatriz Luna and Michael Frank. The use of pathos is relevant because Mascarelli mentions words teens would normally say or do, like “should I try smoking.” Logos is demonstrated by Mascarelli’s evidence and her reasoning of the logical pull of the prefrontal cortex and the impulsive pull of the ventral striatum. The use of logos is sufficient because Mascarelli uses logic to draw conclusions. Through the use of logos being sufficient, logic to draw conclusions and the use of pathos not being prevalent, the article is not biased. Individuals can use this article to understand why teenagers make non rational decisions, some leading to lifelong terms in …show more content…

In 2010 and 2012 the United States Supreme Court agreed to cut back the handling of required life sentences for juveniles. Justices came to the agreement that juveniles are less guilty than adults, no matter what the crime was including murder. Shimeek Gridine, a 14 year old boy along with a partner who was 12 years old aimed to rob a man in Jacksonville. Due to no success Gridine shot the man’s head and shoulder and Gridine was then sentenced to 70 years without parole after pleading guilty. Decisions from the Supreme Court stated that offenders under the age of 18 must be treated differently, therefore banning the use of death penalty for juvenile offenders. About 200 prisoners were afflicted by the decision to cut down sentences of juveniles mostly in the state of Florida. Sentences that have been made in the past before the 2010 decision have not been altered yet. Many juveniles who have lifelong sentences that were made before the 2010 decision have supportive families, decent grades, and want a

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