Ep 163: Forget Hormones! What’s Going On Inside the Teen Brain?

Dr. Sarah McKay, author of The Women’s Brain Book, demystifies
the research on the brain--the difference between males and
females, the impact of hormones, and why the teenage years are
such an exciting time for the brain.


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Full show notes
When our middle or high schoolers are driving us up the wall, we
often attribute their wacky behavior to hormones. They weren’t
this crazy when they were younger, and we pray they won’t be this
unpredictable as adults, so we assume it must be those teenage
chemicals in their brains making them act up. It’s just a
biological process, and there’s nothing we can do...right?



But attributing all of our teens’ behavior to hormones can bring
up some complicated questions for parents. Like, with everything
going on in her brain already, would it be wise to put my
daughter on birth control? Or, is it normal, hormonal, behavior
that keeps my teenager out late, causes him to drive like a
maniac? What if there are other factors to consider when
pondering these questions that can make things a little clearer
for parents?



To find out, we’re talking to Dr. Sarah McKay, renowned
neuroscientist, to find out what role hormones really play in
teen’s development...and what popular ideas are actually
misconceptions! Dr. McKay is an Oxford educated doctor with years
of experience researching brian science. Finding herself
intrigued by outdated or misconstrued ideas about the female
mind, she decided to write The Women’s Brain Book, a
comprehensive look at the development of women’s neural pathways.
 



In this week’s episode, Dr. McKay’s demystifying the role of
hormones during puberty–and explaining why we give them too much
weight. Plus, we’re discussing the specific brain changes our
pubescent kids are experiencing, and getting into how gender
stereotypes seep into what should be purely scientific
perspectives of puberty.



The Truth About Hormones


Although we often think of puberty as being absolutely
characterized by changes in hormones, the truth is a little more
complicated, says Dr. McKay. Although teens are experiencing a
switch up of hormonal activity during this tumultuous period,
it's not just these hormones that are making them act up!



In the episode, Dr. McKay elaborates on how teens’ brains are
constantly receiving messages from everything they do–every
muscle they move, every bite they eat, or even the temperature of
their body! This means that beyond just the new, puberty- induced
hormonal changes going on in teen’s brains, their environment and
contextual elements are constantly contributing to mood swings,
anger, sadness, discomfort, etc! Puberty hormones simply dial up
or dial down the emotional effects of these external influences.



By pinning everything on hormones, Dr. McKay thinks we might be
furthering a particular narrative about emotion–especially for
girls and women! When we chalk up mood swings or discontentment
to hormonal activity, we’re only starting the common, offensive
misconception that when a woman isn’t happy, it must be because
it’s her “time of the month”. It can lead to the idea that a
woman’s anger or concern is just her being “hysterical” or
overreacting due to her, well, being a woman! As Dr. McKay
emphasizes in the episode, we would rather our kids have a more
sophisticated understanding of female emotion than this!



In our interview,  Dr. McKay talks at length about the birth
control pill and whether or not the hormonal effects are
important to consider for your own teen. To continue our
discussion of puberty struggles specific to the female, we’re
also breaking down how our society’s commonly held beliefs about
gender affect our perspectives when it comes to puberty.



How Our Idea of Gender is Too Generalized



There are a lot of gendered ideas about puberty floating around,
and Dr. McKay is here to help separate fact from fiction. To
start, she tackles differences between male and female brain
development when it comes to mathematical thinking. Many people
think that boys are able to configure complicated mathematical
concepts before young women, like being able to rotate a 3D
object in their minds. 



Dr. McKay explains that while there may appear to be some truth
to the idea if you’re looking at overall averages, it’s not
necessarily reflected when studied on a case by case basis. Plus,
the difference might not be a result of brain development. If we
were examining a brain, Dr. McKay explains, there would be
nothing indicating whether it was male or female, as the two are
nearly identical. This means it’s possible that learning
differences between men and women are from the way we teach them!



Dr. McKay confirms that there are some differences along gender
lines when it comes to the rate of mood disorders among
adolescents–but a lot of this comes from gender roles. For
example, young women are more likely to talk to others about the
way they’re feeling, but it can cause them to ruminate on certain
problems longer than they should. This can cause depressive or
anxious thoughts to become more and more ingrained until young
women find themselves with a diagnosable mood disorder. Men are
less likely to confide in others because they aren’t encouraged
to! Instead, they’re more likely to develop anger management
issues or alcoholism as a result of repression, Dr. McKay
explains.



If your teen develops physically earlier or later than their
peers, this can also be a gendered issue encompassing mental
health, says Dr. MacKay. Young women who develop early tend to be
treated as outsiders, leading them to develop anxiety or other
mood disorders. Men who develop later are often looked down upon
or treated as “wimpy,” leading them down a similar road, Dr.
McKay says.



Dr. Mckay talks even further about gender and puberty in our
interview, and brings up some seriously surprising points! In the
episode, we’re also covering why adolescence is such a critical
period for learning and growing, even if we don’t think of it
that way.



Breaking Down the Adolescent Brain


Dr. McKay explains that there are two times when human brains are
the most posed for learning–the toddler years and the teenage
years! Two and three year old brains are adjusting to learn
talking and walking, while the teenage brain is ripe for learning
history, math, science and English as well as empathy and
emotional regulation. In our discussion we talk about how we
often underestimate teens’ brain power, when we should really be
cheering them on!



If you’re wondering why teens can be so reactive during this
period, it’s because their neural pathways are still developing,
and the emotionally reactive parts are the ones that develop
first! Dr. Mckay explains how more logical responses tend to
arrive in a few years, when teens have refined their reactive
thinking and strengthened the pathways that lead to rational
responses.



One thing parents should look out for in growing teens is what
Dr. McKay calls cognitive reappraisal. This is a thought process
that is common for developing teenage brains that often leads to
social anxiety, insecurity, or fear of rejection. Dr. McKay
explains this concept further in our interview and shares how it
might be affecting your teen.



In the Episode…


Dr. McKay’s bountiful experience and wisdom shines t...