Puberty: Your Brain on Hormones

As humans grow from children into adults, they pass through a stage called adolescence. Adolescence is a time of major social, environmental, and biological change in a person’s life. The start of puberty, which often happens around the teenage years, is an important period of human physical and emotional development. In addition to the more obvious bodily changes that happen during this time, an adolescent’s brain also goes through changes that may not be as visible. These changes are directed by chemicals called hormones. Hormones help our bodies become taller, change shape, and even grow hair. Although hormones act on different parts of the body (like bones, muscles, or skin), several crucial hormones for puberty are actually made in the brain. Scientists are learning more about the ways hormones affect how the brain grows and changes, and in turn, the way that changes how you act and feel!