The limbic system is a group of structures located deep within the cerebrum. It is composed of the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the hypothalamus. These brain regions are involved in the expression of emotions and motivation, which are related to survival. The emotions include fear, anger, and the fight or fight response. The limbic system is also involved in feelings of pleasure that reward behaviors related to species survival, such as eating and sex. In addition, the limbic system regulates functions related to memory storage and retrieval of events that invoke a strong emotional response. Neuroimaging studies have revealed that when interacting with others and making decisions, adolescents are more likely than adults to be swayed by their emotions.12–16 In addition, adolescents often read others’ emotions incorrectly. These studies involved comparing a teen brain to an adult brain determined that adolescents’ prefrontal cortices are used less often during interpersonal interactions and decision making than their adult counterparts. In fact, adolescents relied more on the emotional region of their brains when reading others’ emotions, which is more impulsive when compared to
