Helping Children and Teens Deal with Stress in an Uncertain Times

INDIANAPOLIS - As families across the country face losses of nest eggs, homes
or jobs, their young children and teens need emotional support.
Child psychologist Michele C. Thorne, Ph.D., clinical director of the Consult
Liaison Service at Riley Hospital for Children and assistant professor of clinical
psychology at the Indiana University School of Medicine, says that parents should
recognize that even newborn babies pick up on the emotional tones of adult stress.
She says children of any age, including teens, need to be reassured that they are
safe and will be cared for no matter how the family is faring.

Children, especially those prone to anxiety, will jump to conclusions and worry.
Dr. Thorne says that if upheaval is occurring or is feared, it is better for children
and teens to be prepared.

"Parents need to talk with their children and teens because they need time to adjust
to changes. But parents also should censor what they say and shouldn't burden their
children with adult worries and concerns," she said.

That's because children aren't ready to be saddled with adult burdens. The frontal
lobe, the part of the brain that handles planning, attention, concentration, and
reasoning isn't fully developed until late adolescence or early adulthood. Or as Dr.
Thorne puts it, the main onboard computer which directs how an individual makes
decisions isn't fully programmed in children and teens.

She recommends weekly family meetings, especially when a family is going
through a difficult time. For example, parents might say that Dad will be home
more often because he isn't working and that he will need to use the computer
because it helps him locate job leads or keep up with financial markets.
"It's best to talk with your children about what is going on and to explain the
family's strategies for dealing with it," she said.

While parents want their children to know that they can ask questions or offer
suggestions she counsels against involving children in decisions such as whether to
move or how to handle situations outside their spheres of influence.
"You don't want to make your child or teen think you don't appreciate their advice
so it's best not to solicit their opinions on things which they are unqualified to make
a decision," she said.

As media headlines carry daily updates on the global economic crisis and broadcast
news of possible recession, children and teens may be facing an information
overload even if not directly affected. Dr. Thorne suggests that parents investigate
what is being presented in their children's classrooms for guidance on discussions
at home.

If a child appears to be having trouble coping with stress or appears anxious,
parents should consult with the child's pediatrician or community mental health
services or school counselor. Parents should also make sure they have their own
emotional supports in place, which will provide them with the ability to best help
their children.


Dr. Thorne's research focuses on the relationship between psychological thriving
and coping processes during major life transitions.

About Riley Hospital for Children As Indiana's first and only comprehensive hospital dedicated exclusively
to the care of children, Riley Hospital for Children, a part of Clarian Health, has provided compassionate care,
support and comfort to children and their families for 80 years. Each year Riley serves over 160,000 inpatients and outpatients from across Indiana, the nation and the world. Riley Hospital's partnership with Clarian Health and its strong affiliation with the Indiana University School of Medicine make it the only comprehensive clinical resource for Indiana's children and the premiere source for health related information for their parents.

From simple care associated with the health and wellness of children and less complex specialty care to the
most critically-ill and medically complex cases, Riley Hospital for Children is the leader for pediatric care in
the state and the region. In 2004, Clarian became Indiana's first magnet hospital system. Clarian Health
Partners, Inc. operates the Methodist Hospital, Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital campuses as a
single hospital under Indiana law.

CONTACT: Cindy Fox Aisen
317-274-7722
caisen@iupui.edu

Teen Brains

Do you have teenagers? Ever wonder what they are thinking? Well this article from LiveScience should help. Enjoy!

Teen Brains Clear Out Childhood Thoughts
Clara Moskowitz
LiveScience Staff Writer
livescience.com Mon Mar 23, 6:11 pm ET

The mysterious goings-on inside teen brains have befuddled countless parents over the years. Now some insights are being provided by recent neuroscience research.

Between ages 11 and 17, children's brain waves reduce significantly while they sleep, a new study found. Scientists think this change reflects a trimming-down process going on inside teenagers' brains during these years, where extraneous mental connections made during childhood are lost.

"When a child is born, their brain is not fully-formed, and over the first few years there's a great proliferation of connections between cells," said physiologist Ian Campbell of the University of California, Davis. "Over adolescence there is a pruning back of these connections. The brain decides which connections are important to keep, and which can be let go."

Scientists call this process synaptic pruning, and speculate that the brain decides which neural links to keep based on how frequently they are used. Connections that are rarely called upon are deemed superfluous and eliminated. Sometimes in adolescence, that pruning process goes awry and important connections are lost, which could lead to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, the researchers think.

Brain pruning

Synaptic pruning is thought to help the brain transition from childhood, when it is able to learn and make new connections easily, to adulthood, when it is a bit more settled in its structure, but can focus on a single problem for longer and carry out more complex thought processes.

For example, if a child receives a brain injury before age 10, another area of the brain can often take over the functions of the damaged region. If the same injury occurs at age 20, however, the person may lose a vital ability, because the brain has lost the flexibility to transfer that function to another area.

"The fact that there are more connections [in a child's brain] allows things to be moved around," Campbell told LiveScience. "After adolescence, that alternate route is no longer available. You lose the ability to recover from a brain injury, or the ability to learn a language without an accent. But you gain adult cognitive powers."

Campbell and UC-Davis psychiatrist Irwin Feinberg recorded the sleep brain waves (called EEG) two times a year over five years in 59 children, beginning at either age 9 or age 12. They found that brain waves in the frequency range 1-4 Hz remained unchanged between ages 9 and 11 and then fell sharply, by about 66 percent, between ages 11 and 16.5. In the 4-8 Hz frequency range, which corresponds to a different part of the brain, brain waves started to decline earlier and fell by about 60 percent between ages 11 and 16.5 years.

Overall, these changes are consistent with synaptic pruning, because as neural connections are lost in those areas of the brain, brain waves in the corresponding frequencies decrease. Campbell and Feinberg report their findings in the March 23 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Tumultuous years

Synaptic pruning is just one of many changes thought to be going on inside teenagers' brains. For example, a 2005 study found that teenagers can't multi-task as well as adults because their brains are still learning how to process multiple pieces of information at once they way adults can.

In addition to changes that affect how they think, teenagers' brains also undergo developments that affect how they feel. For example, during adolescence people begin to empathize more with others, and take into account how their actions will affect not just themselves, but people around them.

A 2006 study found that the teenage medial prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with higher-level thinking, empathy, and guilt, is underused compared to adults. But as adolescents mature, they begin to use this region more when making decisions, indicating that they increasingly consider others when making choices.