Describe development of the brain during late childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.

Make sure each Question is answered.
Purpose
The purpose of each written assignment option is to focus your attention on concepts that the instructor feels are particularly significant in each chapter, to enable you integrate and apply your knowledge, and to help you to think critically about issues in adolescent psychology.
Directions
For each written assignment there are several options. Choose only one option for each assignment. Complete a 7-8 pages, double spaced typed paper. Cover sheet and reference page are separate. Review the paper for completeness and relevance to the questions asked in the assignment. Be sure to include the entire questions you are working on. Do NOT plagiarize other peoples’ works (see NVCC policies)! Be sure to include citations and references to the works that you are using. In other words, don’t copy sections from the text without adding a citation, such as (Dodge, 1993; Berger, p357). Include an additional page with a short bibliography of sources that you quoted or referenced in the paper.
Written Assignment 1: Option 2
Chapter 2 describes several factors that influence the onset of puberty, the general progress of puberty, and notes that the age at which puberty begins has been declining over the last century for women (the “secular trend”). There is also a discussion of brain development, “transient exuberance” (“blooming”), synaptic connections, and “pruning.” See especially Figure 3.10 illustrating “Synaptic Density.” The video, Inside the Teenage Brain explores brain development in some depth.
Discuss the principal factors that are involved in the onset of puberty and provide evidence/examples illustrating/supporting each of these factors. Suggest possible explanations for the earlier average onset of puberty in women in the more developed nations over the last century.
For both males and females, describe some of the consequences, both as an adolescent and later as an adult, of early or late onset of puberty when compared with the adolescent’s peers.
Describe development of the brain during late childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood.
Explain how different types of experience influence this process.
Discuss how processing of information and emotions are different as a result. Are teens really “clueless?”
How are teen and adult reasoning abilities and perceptions of emotional expression different?
What is the role of sleep?
Are there policy implications for modern adolescents and schools?