NeuroLaw: Introduction to Neuroscience - 5 - Adolescent Brains

The Introduction to Neuroscience microcredential course is offered by the Michigan State University Neuroscience and Law program for students and working professionals with an interest in learning how neuroscience can be applied to their role in the crimimal justice system, whether it be law enforcement, criminal investigation, forensics, social work, or in the courtroom.

When an adolescent commits a crime, should they be punished in the same manner as an adult offender? While we may be inclined to think that a crime is a crime regardless of who commits the crime, in the Adolescent Brains module you will learn the many ways in which neuroscience suggests otherwise. For instance: during the period of transition from childhood to adulthood, the brain of an adolescent is wired to respond to external social cues and internal emotions before it has developed the ability to suppress those responses when they would result in an inappropriate behavior. Adult brains, on the other hand, have had time to develop the self-control necessary to suppress inappropriate behaviors, and thus are expected to behave in an appropriate manner. Consequently it would seem unjustified to have the same expectations in life, and consequences in the courtroom, for both adolescents and adults. As the brain continues to develop, most adolescents simply grow out of their bad behaviors to become responsible adults. This doesn’t just happen with the passage of time though, given as how maturation requires actual life experience, that which many adolescents don’t really seem to be exposed to these days. As a result Young Adulthood has been added as an additional developmental stage prior to adulthood, to allow extra time for growth when their adolescence has been lacking in life experience, and which means that they continue to be treated differently than adults in the courtroom. Finally we come to the issue of how neuroscience findings can be applied to adolescents in the courtroom, given as how neuroscience studies are based on groups rather than individuals, whereas the courts really just want to know whether an individual adolescent can be singled out to be punished as if they were an adult. All is not lost though - neuroscience can still inform us as to how adolescents as a group are less deserving of punishment, and provide supporting evidence which together with other forms of evidence can still be interpreted in a legally-meaningful way.

All this and more in the Adolescent Brains module of the Introduction to Neuroscience microcredential course for NeuroLaw.