Page 38 - Prefrontal Cortex News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> 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 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 ...

>> simple tasks become very frustrating, like mixing paint, and then just sort of get into this state of, you know -- >> and why that happens is exactly what columbia university neuroscientist carl hart is investigating. >> exhale. >> research subjects in his lab smoke marijuana and then take a variety of cognitive tests. >> the affects will be disruption in memory, disruptions in inhibitory control. they will become slower at cognitive functioning, a wide range of things. these affects are temporary, but they're pretty pronounced, and they are clear. >> and it's slowly becoming clear to scien...

Psychologically addictive, but also physically addictive. >> so give me an update. how are you doing? >> dr. christian 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 a day. he stopped skateboarding...

Frustrating, like mixing paint, and then just sort of get into this state of, you know -- >> and why that happens is exactly what columbia university neuroscientist carl hart is investigating. >> exhale. >> research subjects in his lab smoke marijuana and then take a variety of cognitive tests. >> the affects will be disruption in memory, disruptions in inhibitory control. they will become slower at cognitive functioning, a wide range of things. these affects are temporary, but they're pretty pronounced, and they are clear. >> and it's slowly becoming clear to scientists what part of the brain...

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 you stop smoking, you have no feel good cannabinoids of your own. until your body kick starts production, y...