Impact on the Physiology of the Brain Blue Knot Foundation (2017) Provides information on decreased frontal lobe functioning and increased
limbic system sensitivity and the impact on the left and right hemispheres of the brain in children experiencing maltreatment.
Specifically, established findings show that adolescents are at a developmental stage in which the
limbic - striatal
system (responsible for emotional drive, emotional response, arousal, novelty - and sensation - seeking, and reward
sensitivity) is more quickly and fully developed than the PFC and related circuitry, which is not fully developed until adulthood (responsible for self - regulation, emotional control, impulse and cognitive control, planning, decision making, and executive functioning)(see [3 • •, 29 • •, 34, 35, 36, 37 • •, 38] for reviews).1