青少年的大脑与成年人的大脑有何不同?大纲

Teenagers are often portrayed as thrill-seekers, but research suggests their brains are wired to learn from their experiences, which makes them better prepared for adulthood.

青少年通常被认为喜欢寻求刺激，不过有研究发现，他们的大脑善于从经验中学习，为他们走上社会作更好的准备。

In a small study, they performed better than adults at a picture-based game and brain scans showed a higher level of brain activity.

在一项小研究中，他们在一个看图游戏中比成年人表现的更好，脑部扫描数据显示大脑活动水平更高。

The research team, from Harvard, Columbia and California universities, set out to test whether adolescents' typical reward-seeking behaviour could also make them better at learning from good or bad outcomes.

来自哈佛大学、哥伦比亚大学和加利福尼亚大学的研究团队决定通过测试以验证，是否青少年典型的寻求奖赏的行为，会在他们从好或坏的结果中学习时更有帮助。

They asked 41 teenagers, aged 13 to 17, and 31 adults, aged 20 to 30, to play a game based on pictures while scanning some of each group's brains using MRI.

他们邀请了年龄在13到17岁之间的41名青少年，以及年龄在20到39岁之间的31名成年人，来参加一个图片游戏，同时使用核磁共振成像技术来扫描每组中部分人员的大脑。

In the game, the teenagers got more answers correct and memory tests showed they were also better at remembering the detail of why they chose the answers they did.

在游戏中，青少年组答对的题目更多，同时记忆力测试显示，他们在记住自己为何要选择某个答案的细节方面表现更好。

The study said this meant they were better at learning from their experiences - which would equip them well for leaving home and gaining independence as adults.

研究指出，这意味着他们能更好的从经验中学习--作好充分准备，以便在成年后能离家独立。

When they looked at the teenagers' brain scans, the researchers found activity in two areas of the brain - the hippocampus and the striatum - whereas adults mainly used their striatum.

当研究人员查看青少年的大脑扫描数据时，他们发现大脑有两个区域在活动--海马体和纹状体，而成年人的大脑主要使用纹状体。

They said these connections between two important parts of the growing brain explained why they performed better.

研究人员表示，这种正在发育的大脑中两个重要部分的连接，解释了为何青少年表现的更好。

Juliet Davidow, a psychology researcher at Harvard University, said the findings could inspire new ways of teaching teenagers.

哈佛大学的心理学研究员朱丽叶·达维多表示，这项研究能为青少年教学带来新的启发。

"If you frame something positively, it could be the case that adolescents will remember things about the learning experience better. In everyday life, they're paying attention to their environment in a way that is different from adults."

“如果你构造出积极的事物，可能出现的情况就是，青少年将更好的记住学习经验相关的东西。在日常生活中，他们正在以与成年人不同的方式关注着周围的环境。”