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FRONTAL LOBE: The thinking center, or CEO of the brain. Controls decision-making, problem solving, judgment, and self-control. The last lobe to fully mature.

PARIETAL LOBE: Receives and processes sensory information from the body. Immature until age 16.

TEMPORAL LOBE: Responsible for memory, emotion, hearing, and language. Still developing after age 16.

6.9% of 12 to 17 year-olds today already meet the standard psychiatric criteria for SUBSTANCE USE.

Teenagers who begin using any

addictive substance before age 18 are

more likely to develop a substance use disorder.

1 IN 4 Americans who began using any addictive substance BEFORE AGE 18 are addicted compared to 1 IN 25 who started using at AGE 21 OR OLDER.

For more information on how to overcome addiction please call Turning Point at 877-581-1793 or send an email to info@tpaddictiontreatment.com

Sources:http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-teen-brain-still-under-construction/teen-brain_141903.pdf

http://www.drugfree.org/why-do-teens-act-this-way/adolescent-brain-development/ • http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2475802/https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=VPRQBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=the+adolescent+brain+malleability&ots=f1TGrPQv_p&sig=2jdXjZWHLHkitw2erxI9DaD

YIYY#v=onepage&q=gray%20matter&f=false • http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nationwide-trendshttp://www.monitoringthefuture.org//pubs/monographs/mtf-overview2014.pdf • http://www.fit.edu/caps/articles/facts.php

http://preventteendruguse.org/pdfs/AmerDropoutCrisis.pdf • http://www.casacolumbia.org/addiction-research/reports/adolescent-substance-usehttp://begun.case.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/podata_1_17_14-11.pdf

http://www.globaldrugpolicy.org/Issues/Vol 2 Issue 2/Neurobiology of Addication and the Adolescent Brain.pdfhttp://archive.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2013SummNatFindDetTables/NationalFindings/NSDUHresults2013.pdf

THE DEVELOPINGADOLESCENT BRAIN,

ITS VULNERABILITY TOSUBSTANCE ABUSE,AND THE BENEFIT OFEARLY INTERVENTION

A Critical Window for Change:

The Adolescent Brain:

ADOLESCENCE IS A TIME OF GREAT DEVELOPMENT:the brain is young, malleable, and eager to experience new things. The teenage years are also the most crucial window for learning. Drug addiction, however, is a learned disease,

and young brains are most susceptible.

THERE ARE 4 WAYS THAT THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN DIFFERS FROM THE ADULT BRAIN:

The parts of the brain dedicated to judgment and decision-making are not fully mature in adolescence, making youth much more

likely to try drugs and alcohol during their teenage years.

The developing adolescent brain can clearly lead to irrational behavior, risk-taking, and addiction. However, because it is still

malleable, it is also possible to “unlearn” destructive tendencies.

Adolescents are less likely than adults to seek treatment on their own. They do not realize they are

su�ering from addiction and do not have the incentive to change. This is where they need intervention.

FACT: A person’s learning capacity will never be greater than it is during adolescence.

A decision your teen makes now can a�ect him FOR LIFE.

It takes about 25 YEARS for a brain to fully develop

Although the brain reaches 90% of its adult size by age 6, the brain undergoes MAJOR, DYNAMIC CHANGES throughout adolescence.

The cerebral cortex accounts for about 75% of the entire human brain.

It is divided into four areas, called lobes, which control specific functions. These develop and mature in order, from BACK TO FRONT.

DOPAMINE LEVELS: There is more dopamine activity in the brain’s reward center in early adolescence than at any other point in their life. Teens therefore go out of their way to seek rewarding experiences, such as experimenting with new drugs.

Adolescent Brain Development:

This Early Exposure Leads toLearned Substance Addiction:

The rapid period of brain development in adolescence is also the greatest window for change. Early intervention is critical for

your teen to lead a clear and sober lifestyle in the future!

HYPER-RATIONAL THINKING: The part of the brain that is in charge of decision-making is not fully developed in adolescence. As a result, teens will focus on the thrill or the positive aspects of an experience, such as drug using, without weighing its negative consequences.

PRUNING: The pruning stage of development can also be thought of as conditioning. Choices teens make now can a�ect their brains for life! If a teen does not read during adolescence, his reading “synapses” will be eliminated.

MYELINATION: The brain's "white matter," called myelin, enables nerve signals to quickly communicate with di�erent parts of the brain. This process begins in adolescence and is the main contributor to our brain’s plasticity.

OCCIPITAL LOBE: Concerned with vision. First lobe to fully develop.

There were just OVER 2.8 MILLION new users of illicit drugs in 2013.

TWO OUT OF THREE students have consumed

alcohol by the end of high school.

54.1% WERE UNDER 18 YEARS OLD.

1.3 MILLION youth needed treatment for substance

dependence in 2013.

ONLY 122,000 RECEIVED TREATMENT AT A SPECIALTY FACILITY

THE AVERAGE AGE of first experimentation

with drugs is 13 YEARS OLD.

49% OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS have

already used an illicit drug in their lifetime.

13

6.5X

“When substance use disorders are identified and treated in adolescence, especially if they are mild or moderate, they frequently give way to abstinence from drugs with no further problems.”

- National Institute on Drug Abuse

“Early intervention can obviously decrease the risk of developing substance abuse. However, missed opportunities to intervene may increase the probability of using during adolescence.”

- Dr. Deborah Simkin

ONLY 10% of 12- to 17-year-olds needing substance abuse treatment actually receive any services.