Abstract

Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown extensive structural changes in the adolescent brain accompany these changes in function. Improvement of functions such as attention and cognitive flexibility in adolescence for example is likely a result of myelination and pruning in the frontal and parietal lobes. Pruning refers to the selective elimination of synapses, which are initially overabundant in young brains. This process largely occurs throughout puberty and adolescence; children tend to exhibit higher density of dendritic spines than adults, with a subsequent decrease during puberty.