How does stress affect a teenager’s brain?

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Ever wonder what is going on in the brain of a teenager, especially one who is stressed out? UCLA Psychologist Adriana Galvan is on a quest to find out. With support from the National Science Foundation, she’s investigating the effects of daily stress on a teen’s cognition and brain function. She is monitoring the daily stress of teens by having them carry a personal digital device that provides daily measures of stress over two weeks. She is also scanning their brains and measuring their stress hormone levels. By taking this multi-method approach, Galvan is learning how daily stress influences cognitive neurodevelopment in teens.

[Video and text source: NSF BRAIN Initiative YouTube channel]