Teenage angst due to changes in brain wiring?

[Celebration]

http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1911762005

STROPPY teenagers fall out with their parents partly because they fail to pick up on signs of sadness and anger as their brains are "rewired" for adult life, a scientist said yesterday.

A study of 600 young people between the ages of six and 17 found the ability to recognise these emotions in photographs dropped dramatically during puberty, leaving many teenagers with the same level of understanding as a child of eight.


Professor David Skuse, of University College London, suggested this may explain the teenage angst as parodied by comedian Harry Enfield's character "Kevin".

The research also found that boys of six are significantly worse at reading emotions than girls and while an unruly boy at school may appear to be defying a teacher who expressed disapproval, he may actually not notice he is being scolded

[Ferry Fey]

1. An acquired, temporary Asperger's Syndrome?

This is fascinating. A temporary version of Asperger's Syndrome that goes along with the territory of being a teenager?

It'll be interesting to see what changes this brings to teaching methods.

[kevsand]

2. "The study was designed to investigate a theory...

...that autism was an extreme form of the male brain"

That's my official excuse from now on.