A new study out this week from the Netherlands shows that children do not start to learn by their mistakes or negative feedback until the age of puberty—12 or 13. Until then they only learn from positive feedback—and girls’ brain go into puberty an average of 12-18 months before boys.  But an area of all our brains that continues to respond strongly to positive feedback for our entire lives—the basal ganglia, located just outside the cerebral cortex—is very important in maintaining a happy relationship for both men and women. 

As seen on The Huffington Post:

You don’t have to be Jamie Lynn Spears or Bristol Palin to understand that today’s teen girls are conflicted about their responsibilities and overwhelmed with tough decisions. Between raging hormones and a not-so-healthy dose of media and peer pressure, there’s still school work, the Homecoming Dance, soccer practice, family commitments, drooling over the hottie in algebra class, planning for college and getting used to their brains on PMS. It’s a wonder any woman makes it into her 20s as a functional member of society.

I remember my own highs and lows quite vividly. The cute surfer guys hanging out at the lunch tables at Oceanside High School, who never seemed to notice us girls, and the daily battle with an embarrassing pimple, jealousy of prettier or smarter girls, a bad hair day or cramps, not to mention the heartbreak the year my boyfriend’s parents sent him away to New Zealand. Dealing with the daily intrusions of what seemed like an unbearably strict father and a well-meaning but perfectionistic mother didn’t help my self-esteem much either.

These personal memories coupled with what I see daily at the Women’s and Teen Girl’s Mood & Hormone Clinic at UC San Francisco, which I founded in 1994, have compelled me to help young women understand and manage their emotions. Since my book, “The Female Brain,” was published, I have received so many questions on my web site from teen girls who have read the chapter called “The Teen Girl Brain” and are confused about everything from their periods to their changing relationships with their mothers and fathers to the truth about sex. This week I’m proud to announce my new site, TeenBrainPower.com, a place for girls to learn about what’s really happening to their brains, emotions and bodies during this confusing time. (more…)

A new study out this week finds that as we age, our brains respond less strongly to rewards, meaning we actually grow less excitable. The main difference is in the response of the brain to dopamine, a naturally occurring chemical messenger that plays a central role in the reward system. When a reward was anticipated, the researchers said, three parts of a reward center in the brain lighted up in the younger group, but only one in the older group. 

A new study published this week in Neurology divided subjects into three groups, based on their levels of vitamin B12, and followed them for five years with annual scans and physical and mental examinations.The group with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 lost twice as much brain volume as those with the highest levels. Here’s the bottom line: Make sure you have an adequate intake of vitamin B12. You can find it in meat and eggs or with a daily supplement. 

Hey, guys! I’m traveling tonight and won’t be available for our Blog Talk Radio show this week until Wednesday at 7pm PST. Send more questions using the box on the right >> and I’ll be happy to answer them.