Untold truth about teenagers' brains: Scientists have discovered 'hotspots' that alter thinking patterns.

News Topical, Digital Desk : Scientists have discovered that the adolescent brain doesn't simply discard old connections. During adolescence, it actively forms clusters of dense new synapses in specific parts of neurons. These clusters emerge only during adolescence and may help shape higher-level thinking.

When this process is disrupted, it may play a role in conditions like schizophrenia. Adolescence is not only a crucial stage for social and physical development, it is also crucial for brain development. During this time, advanced mental abilities such as planning, reasoning, and decision-making continue to develop. Yet, scientists still lack a complete understanding of how the brain's complex networks take shape during this critical period.

At the heart of brain development are synapses, the functional connections between neurons that allow information to flow through the brain. For decades, researchers believed that the number of synapses steadily increases during childhood and then decreases during adolescence. This idea led to the widely accepted theory that excessive 'synaptic pruning,' the process of removing weak or unused connections, may contribute to neuropsychiatric conditions. Schizophrenia, which can involve delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized thinking, is often linked to this mechanism.

New research challenges an old theory

A team of scientists from Kyushu University has now discovered evidence that questions this long-held view. In a study published in Science Advances on January 14, researchers found that the adolescent brain doesn't simply eliminate connections. Instead, it also forms dense clusters of synapses in specific parts of neurons during this developmental stage.

"We didn't set out to study brain disorders," says Takeshi Imai, a professor at Kyushu University's Faculty of Medical Sciences. "After developing high-resolution tools for synaptic analysis in 2016, we studied the brain cortex of mice out of curiosity," Imai said.

Focusing on a key brain layer

The brain's cortex is made up of six layers that together form highly complex neural circuits. Imai and his colleagues focused on neurons in layer 5, which collect information from multiple sources and send signals as the final output of the cortex. Because of this role, these neurons serve as a central control point for the brain's information processing. To study these cells in detail, the team used SEEDB2, a tissue clearing agent developed by Imai's team, as well as super-resolution microscopy. This combination allowed the researchers to study transparent brain tissue and map the dendritic spines of entire layer 5 neurons for the first time.

Synapse hotspots that emerge during adolescence

Detailed mapping revealed an unexpected pattern. A specific part of the dendrite had an unusually dense concentration of dendritic spines, which the researchers described as a "hotspot." The analysis showed that this hotspot is not present early in life and instead emerges during adolescence. To determine the timing of this change, the team tracked spine distribution across multiple stages of development.

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