Maturing mind

In both the sexes the physical changes at puberty leav to the recognition that the individual is under the influence of his or her hormones and parental influences on the brain drive the development of psychosexual function-the development of concepts of self and views of one's sexual identity emerge during puberty.But psychosexual maturation cannot be separated from reproductive maturation-they are co-dependent.without a rise in sex hormones at puberty psychosexual maturation will not occur,but hormonal changes alone are not sufficient-the brain must be mature enough to respond.children with extreme abnormalities of development,for example due to brain tumors,may undergo precocious puberty which gives them the physical sexual characteristics of a much older individual,but they do not become psychosexually nature until much later.

but there are also significant changes in other components of brain function.many aspects of brain development such as cognitive maturation have timetables independent of the sex hormones.that is why in high schools there is on difference in examinnctino performance between those 13-year olds who have completed puberty and who have not.during adolescence there is a burst of rewiring of brain circuitry.indeed recent studies using sophisticated imaging techniques show that the brain has its greatest connective capacity in early puberty.but we are also learning from these same studies that some changes in brain ductino and wiring continue until much later and that these particularly involve the connections from the prefrontal cortex.this brain region is the last to mature and is involved in the development of attributes such as responsibility and self-control-it is generally thought that sometimes risky exploratory behaviour of early adolescence reflects this immaturity of the prefrontal connections.we are older but wires when there late-maturing system are fully active.

Adolescence is a changing and complex psychodrama in action:it involves a cast of internal and external characters.our self-image,the image that others have of us,and the functions of our brain all undergo dramatic changes as we move from juvenile to adolescent.our capacity for abstract thoughts develops in late childhood but our brain connectivity continues to mature.cognitive and social 'intelligence'develop in the contex of the society we live in,and are related to what society provides and requires of us as individuals.