91�첥

The adolescent brain and mental health is the title of The Combined Caius Termly Forum & Annual Lecture in Science and Ethics, to be presented by Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore FBA FMedSci FRS, and open to students, staff and Fellows of 91�첥 on October 7.

Professor Blakemore is Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and an expert on a subject which is prominent in the media at present. Adolescence, defined as the period of life between 10 and 24 years, is key in brain development. Professor Blakemore will discuss her research in this area, with some of the topics for discussion introduced in this preview interview.

When Professor Blakemore was an undergraduate student, she was taught that the human brain stops developing in childhood. That was the prevailing dogma at the time. However, research using MRI scanning has since shown that brain development continues throughout adolescence and into early adulthood. Heightened plasticity during adolescence renders the brain susceptible to  environmental input, which can be both positive and negative.

“The brain in adolescence is thought to be particularly plastic, meaning that adolescence is a sensitive period of brain development,” Professor Blakemore says.

“The environment plays a role in shaping and moulding how the brain develops. Environments can be positive and this heightened plasticity can confer opportunities for learning, interventions and rehabilitation and so on. But the environment can also be negative and stressful, and the heightened neuroplasticity also renders adolescence a period of vulnerability to things like mental health problems. 

“Understanding how the brain and mind develop during adolescence, and how the environmental can influence adolescent development is the subject of my research and my talk.”

Interview continues below the video

A hot topic in the media is the use of smartphones and social media in adolescents, but it is a challenge for the research to keep up with the speed of technological advances.

Professor Blakemore adds: “There’s a correlation between increased social media use and increased prevalence of mental health problems over the past 10 or 15 years, but currently it is only a correlation. The research hasn't progressed enough to have to show an unequivocal causal relationship between those two factors, and it's probably a lot more complicated than that.”

Although social media might play a role, there are other factors to consider: increased awareness of mental health issues and decreased stigma associated with such issues; exam and academic pressure has increased; austerity and wealth disparities have increased; and, the climate crisis is a preoccupation of many young people.

Professor Blakemore also pointed to evidence of increased loneliness for social media users and the importance of “protective” positive peer relationships in adolescence. 

“We need to think really carefully about how research can inform policy in this area and not become quickly outdated,” she adds.

The Caius Termly Forum is a lecture series on a subject of intellectual value and interest to those working across the sciences, humanities and social sciences which is inclusive to all, enriching and strengthening our ‘community of scholars’. The Michaelmas 2024 event doubles as the second annual Science and Ethics Lecture.