Quick Quiz: How Well Do You Know the Teen Brain?

Teenagers' minds work differently from adults' and younger children's. Test your knowledge

By U.S. News Staff

November 26, 2008

Neuroscience has proved that teenage brains are far different than those of either children or adults. How well do you know the teenage brain? Take this true-false quiz to find out. It's based on research for DukeLEARN, a new curriculum for high school students in the works at Duke University.

We often refer to teenagers as "young adults" because their brain development gives them complete adult skills, although they lack the experience of older adults.
1. True
2. False
The teenage brain has less matter in the areas that control planning and problem solving than does the adult brain. That's the reason teenagers make bad choices.
1. True
2. False
Teenagers stay up late because they require less sleep than adults.
1. True
2. False
The reason many teenagers seem emotionally reactive is that they respond to subtle cues that adults miss.
1. True
2. False
Teenagers should not blame their inappropriate behavior on "raging hormones."
1. True
2. False
The teenage brain develops in a way that promotes impulsive and risk-taking activities.
1. True
2. False
Teenagers are more at risk for drug addiction than adults.
1. True
2. False
Adolescents often drink more than adults because they get less sleepy from alcohol, but they also typically get more buzzed.
1. True
2. False
Parents don't have much influence on teenagers because their brain development makes them more sensitive to social cues from their peers.
1. True
2. False
You have the brain you are born with, and there's not much you can do about it.
1. True
2. False