THIS WEEK: TOWN AND COUNTRY Teenage Risk taking
IN THE CBD
Clinical Associate Professor David Bennett, of The Children’s Hospital recent said that research from the field of neuroscience is shedding new light on the question of why teenagers engage in reckless risk taking behaviours.
In the past we’ve blamed raging hormones and peer pressure, but some neuroscientists believe there may be more to it…research using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the brains of children at two year intervals show that while some areas of the human brain are mature by the end of childhood, the prefrontal cortex – responsible for such things as impulse control and strategic planning (anticipating the likely consequences of one’s actions) – continue maturing through the teenage years.
In other words, the adolescent brain is still developing and the highest-level areas may not be completely mature until kids hit their mid-twenties.
This makes young people more likely to experiment and take risks. An immature brain, together with the hormones that stir them up and drive them to be thrill-seekers (especially for boys), is a potentially dangerous mix.
ON THE CENTRAL COAST
A brilliant young sportsman was killed in a tragic accident on a rail line in Newcastle.
Griffin Hays had worked at Dominos Pizza at Warners Bay for several years and work colleagues were in shock. Police investigating his death believe he may have been train surfing and fell onto the tracks between freight carriages. Train surfing involves young men and women climbing onto the side or over the roofs on the outside of fast moving trains.
Many young people have been killed when hit by steel stanchions beside the tracks, by unseen bridges or by slipping between carriages. The object is to to video yourself on a mobile phone and post it on You Tube. Police said Griffin suffered significant injuries that indicated he had been hit by a train, or fallen under a train or both.
The Professor in the city has just explained the tragedy in the bush.
Rev The Hon Dr Gordon Moyes, A.C., M.L.C.