Adolescence is an important time of development. Young people are developing physically, emotionally, and socially. Their brains are developing rapidly. While early childhood involves rapid brain growth, adolescent brain development is focused on a process called “pruning,” in which the existing neural pathways are refined and trimmed over time, especially in the main decision-making areas of the brain. This process goes on well into a person’s twenties. As a result, in adolescence, many neurons, including those in the reward pathways, are firing rapidly. This creates an environment for rapid socioemotional development, learning and sometimes behaviors that involve risk-taking and high rewards. The adolescent years is a period of opportunity and vulnerability for health and development. (more…)