What's the Rush?: Young Brains Cause Doomed Love PDF

# What's the Rush?: Young Brains Cause Doomed Love ## **About the Author** Lexi Tucker (b. 1976) was born in Georgia. Ever since performing in a high school production of Romeo and Juliet, Tucker has been interested in Shakespeare's romances. During her career, she has written about scientific and...

# What's the Rush?: Young Brains Cause Doomed Love ## **About the Author** Lexi Tucker (b. 1976) was born in Georgia. Ever since performing in a high school production of Romeo and Juliet, Tucker has been interested in Shakespeare's romances. During her career, she has written about scientific and literary subjects and the ways modern science can shed light on the classics. Tucker has found that her degree in neuropsychology helps her understand the decisions made by Shakespeare's characters, as they were written with a high degree of psychological realism. ## **Background** In modern terms, Romeo and Juliet, the young protagonists of Shakespeare's famous drama, would be considered adolescents. Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood, beginning around age 10, according to many experts. During this time, young people experience physical and biological changes that affect their behavior and thoughts. - When teenagers are derided by adults, it is usually because they are "wild,” “impulsive,” or “rude.” Even though adolescence was different in Elizabethan England, the same characterization of youth was mostly true in Shakespeare's day as it is now. So, when viewed with an unromantic eye, all the problems caused in Romeo and Juliet could be the results of poor impulse control. - In the play, the teens decide they are madly in love just after meeting each other. Then they get married in secret. Meanwhile, Juliet's father promises her to another man. Then Juliet's cousin Tybalt kills Romeo's best friend, Mercutio. Romeo then kills Tybalt in a revenge-fueled rage. Potions, poisons, and many miscommunications later, they are dead. Though the story would suffer, a little forethought, direct communication, and planning probably would have saved their lives. - What scientists are discovering, however, is that the brain is probably to blame. Place your hand on your forehead. Just behind your hand in a part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex is the area that has an important job: it helps boss around the other parts of your brain so that you can make solid decisions, organize your thoughts, plan ahead, and anticipate consequences. The only problem is that the prefrontal cortex is slow to grow. In fact, it does not seem to be fully developed until about age 25. - Before that time, young people sometimes take risks that seem silly or dangerous to adults. Some research seems to indicate that this risk-taking is like a dress rehearsal for real danger; since our brains learn from experience, we take risks when we are young to learn how to make good decisions when circumstances get really serious. However, teens sometimes are in really serious situations before the prefrontal cortex is good to go, and they might neglect to think about possible consequences before taking action. For example, distracted driving is highest among teenagers—texting, talking on the phone, and adjusting the iPod are just a few examples. Though it may seem safe in the moment, distracted driving can quadruple the chance of a crash. While adults are also guilty of this carelessness, teenagers are less deterred by the terrifying statistics, laws, and danger: the possible consequences don't always rank when that phone starts to buzz. So, even when the life-and-death dangers are very real, the premature prefrontal cortex might explain why the possibility of being hurt or hurting someone else feels very remote. - Though Romeo and Juliet did not have to contend with the risky mix of cell phones and cars, they did grapple with arranged marriages, family feuds, swords, poison, and underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes, leading to “ . . . the County Paris slain; and Romeo dead; and Juliet, dead before, warm and newly kill’d." *iPod: electronic digital music-playing device.