Page 29 - Prefrontal Cortex News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> and it's slowly becoming clear to scientists what part of the brain is most affected. it's the prefrontal cortex. >> it's very important for planning, thinking, coordinating your behaviors. there are tons of marijuana receptors in this region, and we think that marijuana, particularly in the novice, can disrupt all of those behaviors. >> an impairment that hart cautions could be dangerous. especially when driving. >> you may prematurely hit your brakes. you may prematurely hit the gas pedal. a wide range of things. you may make a turn without looking more carefully. >> look at this experime...

Not felt like my day has really started unless i got high. >> joel vargas started smoking when he was just 13. by 15 he was smoking more than a dozen times a day. he stopped skateboarding. he even dropped out of school. >> i like getting high. i need to get high because my brain is telling me. >> adolescents starting about age 13 have a pretty mature brain reward center. so they can experience rewards and pleasures the same way adults can, but the problem with that is that their prefrontal cortex, which helps people think ahead, control their impulses, that's not fully developed until age 24. ...

Age 13 have a pretty mature brain reward center. so they can experience rewards and pleasures the same way adults can, but the problem with that is that their prefrontal cortex, which helps people think ahead, control their impulses, that's not fully developed until age 24. that explains why adolescents are much more vulnerable. >> there's something else that addiction experts believe is likely happening in the brain. when you smoke pot, the feel-good chemicals that make up marijuana called cannabinoids, remember them? they cause your brain to stop producing its own natural cannabinoids. when ...

Wanted some scientific proof so they did an mri scan of his brain and it showed while he medtated he activated the area of the brain where happiness lives the left prefrontal cortex. time for a pop quiz, is this glass half empty or half full? if you said half full, you're on your way to feeling happier and healthier. a harvard study found that optimists are 50% less likely to have heart disease, a heart attack or a stroke. keeping an overall optimistic attitude actually offers protection against cardiovascular disease. science doesn't fare as well for pessimists, they have lower levels of happ...

Marijuana's not just psychologically addictive, but also physically addictive. >> so give me an update. how are you doing? >> dr. christian thurstone runs one of colorado's largest youth substance abuse clinics. the number of marijuana addicts he treats has tripled in the last three years alone. >> literally i cried about it. marijuana is number one on their list of priorities. they have dropped out of life. >> back in the day i would have not felt like my day has really started unless i got high. >> joel vargas started smoking when he was just 13. by 15 he was smoking more than a dozen times ...