Teen Brains Shift Toward Peers

During adolescence, the brain goes through social reorientation, as teenagers often grow closer to peers and less close to parents. In a 2019 study led by Eric Nelson, PhD, researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University surveyed 40 people aged 8 to 19 and used fMRI scans while they viewed teenage faces. Older teens reported more closeness with peers, and that peer closeness changed activity in the brain's social and reward regions.

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