Psyche, Science, and Society

Teens increase anxiety when adults reduce it

March 13th, 2007

The Boston Globe science section has an article of special interest to those of us with teenagers, helping to explain why they are so irritable. But, of course, this is just one study with mice. Does it apply to my son?

Teen brains react differently to stress than adult ones

NEUROSCIENCE
A brain chemical that reduces anxiety in adults has the opposite effect on adolescents, a new study finds, perhaps explaining why many teenagers are so touchy. Neurosteroids are produced mostly by the brain under stressful conditions and boost the activity of special brain receptors called GABA receptors that work to calm excited nerve cells and reduce anxiety. However, using cell cultures maintained under conditions similar to those during puberty in mice and humans, a group of researchers led by Sheryl S. Smith of SUNY Downstate Medical Center found that the neurosteroid THP, or tetrahydropregnanalone, actually inhibits a rare type of GABA receptor. This rare receptor increases dramatically at puberty in a part of the brain that generates emotion, and its inhibition could be responsible for an increased level of anxiety in adolescents under stress.

BOTTOM LINE: “We now have a biological basis for why teenagers are more irritable, angry, and rebellious in response to stress,” said Smith.

CAUTIONS: The study dealt with just female mice. Researchers don’t know if the same effect will be observed in male mice, not to mention teenagers.

WHAT’S NEXT: Smith is now experimenting with mice, with the ultimate goal of developing medications that will prevent this abnormal effect.

WHERE TO FIND IT: Nature Neuroscience, March 11

Entry Filed under: Psychology, Science