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 a logical or measured interpretation. Thus, an understanding of how the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex are used has provided a partial explanation for certain characteristics of adolescents and adolescent behaviors, such as quickness to anger, intense mood swings, and making decisions on the basis of “gut” feelings. Because adolescents rely heavily on the emotional regions of their brains, it can be challenging to make what adults consider logical and appropriate decisions, as illustrated in Figure 3.
