What sex ed doesn’t tell you about your brain - Shannon Odell

by Panzer
While we often talk about puberty’s effect on the body,
what gets overlooked are the fascinating changes that happen in the brain.
I’ve been sent here to talk to you about puberty.
Any questions?
During puberty, your reproductive organs grow and mature.
Any questions?
This ripening allows you to become a sexually mature adult.
There are so many other changes to your body
that puberty can seem almost magical.
I think I'll take it from here.
Puberty, in fact, begins in the brain.
At some point, usually between the ages of 9 and 14,
puberty is triggered when a region known as the hypothalamus
releases waves of a specialized hormone.
As convenient as it would be to go to sleep a child and wake up an adult,
this maturation is slow,
and puberty lasts as long as 4 to 5 years.
And during this extended process,
the brain undergoes its own transformation,
thanks to two of puberty’s key players— estrogen and testosterone.
Produced in the developing testes and ovaries,
these hormones hitch a ride to the brain via the bloodstream.
Once there, they interact with receptors on neurons,
changing the way the individual cells work and function
by making them more or less excitable, altering their growth,
or reshaping their connections.
Cumulatively, this can change how you feel, think, and behave.
For example, hormones remodel and develop the limbic system,
a collection of brain regions responsible for emotional behavior.
Research in animal models suggests that the amygdala undergoes changes
in size and connectivity during puberty.
The amygdala’s function is wide-ranging,
from detecting threats in your environment,
to helping you recognize emotions in your friend’s faces.
Its development allows you to better connect with your peers,
while priming your brain for learning and discovery.
Likewise, puberty organizes and restructures the nucleus accumbens
involved in reward and sensation-seeking.
Activity in this dopamine hub is thought to drive