Study of Teen Brains Offers Clues to Timing of Mental Illness

HealthDay (7/27, Preidt) reports, “Changes that occur in teens’ brains as they mature may help explain why the first signs of mental illness tend to appear during this time,” a magnetic resonance imaging scan study suggests. Investigators found not only that the “cortex becomes thinner” as adolescents grow older, but also that “the brain regions that undergo the greatest changes during the teen years are also where genes associated with schizophrenia risk are most strongly expressed.” The findings of the nearly 300-participant study were published July 25 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

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— “Study of Teen Brains Offers Clues to Timing of Mental Illness,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 27, 2016.

Posted in In The News.