Kashfia Rahman: How risk-taking changes a teenager's brain
Kashfia Rahman: Comment la prise de risques modifie le cerveau des adolescents
Kashfia Rahman studies psychology, cognitive science and global health policy at Harvard University. Full bio
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to understand a teenager?
comprendre un adolescent ?
that some teens do well in school,
certains adolescents travaillent bien,
for an online challenge,
pour un challenge en ligne
des SMS en conduisant,
with illicit drugs.
be so smart, skilled and responsible --
être intelligents et responsables
des risques inconsidérés ?
my peers in person
took such crazy risks.
d'entre eux prenaient autant de risques.
from DARE class in the fifth grade
leurs cours de conduite en CM2.
themselves to these harmful risks,
to continue taking risks.
"to explore knowledge,"
« explorer le savoir »,
for a scientific explanation.
une explication scientifique.
that teens ages 13 to 18
les adolescents de 13 à 18 ans
than children or adults,
que les enfants et adultes,
that they're going through?
qu'ils traversent ?
have already found evidence
is still in the process of maturation --
est encore en développement
exceptionally poor at decision-making,
to risky behaviors.
des comportements à risques.
if the maturing brain is to blame,
cérébral est à blâmer,
more vulnerable than children,
plus vulnérables que les enfants
are more developed than those of children?
est plus développé ?
take risks at the same level.
ne prennent pas le même niveau de risques.
or unintentional causes
et sous-jacentes qui les poussent
what I decided to research.
on the basis of a psychological process
du processus psychologique
as "getting used to it."
« s'habituer ».
adapt to some behaviors,
cerveau s'adapte à certaines conduites
to design a project
rise of risk-taking in teenagers.
des risques pris par les adolescents.
habituation to risk-taking
l'accoutumance au risque
the already-vulnerable teenage brain
vulnérable des adolescents
associated with risk,
associées au risque,
would feel less fearful and guilty,
moins de peur et culpabilité,
to even more risk-taking.
à plus de prises de risques.
a research study
outrageous choices
encore et encore des choix
to their health and well-being?
et leur bien-être ?
sur mon chemin.
to measure their brain activity,
de leur activité cérébrale,
and guide me along the way.
a high school in South Dakota
un lycée du Dakota du Sud
for scientific exploration.
les recherches scientifiques.
une chorale, des groupes de débat
or research mentors.
ou de mentors pour la recherche.
in a science fair was completely foreign.
était très obscure.
have the ingredients
pas les ingrédients
of Bangladeshi immigrants
of Muslim students
with something to contribute to society,
quelque chose à la société,
the scarf-wearing brown girl
comme la brune aux foulards,
in my homogenous hometown.
could be for kids like me
être bénéfique pour les jeunes comme moi
find their niche elsewhere.
seemingly impossible obstacles.
de dépasser les obstacles.
with a variety of methodologies,
travaillant avec plusieurs méthodes,
my school's football coach,
de football de mon lycée,
to sign necessary paperwork.
formalités administratives.
electroencephalography,
used to measure emotional responses,
avec des électrodes,
with my own money,
propres sous, un casque d'EEG,
were saving up for.
de mon âge économisaient.
ages 13 to 18, from my high school.
âgés de 13 à 18 ans.
in my school library,
decision-making simulation
simulation de prise de décision
comparable to ones in the real world,
risques par rapport au monde extérieur,
de drogue, ou le jeu d'argent.
12 times over three days
12 fois en 3 jours
emotional responses:
excitement, frustration,
excitation, frustration,
et de relaxation.
emotion-measuring scales.
the process of habituation
le processus d'accoutumance
to complete this research.
venir à bout de cette recherche.
drafting proposals,
rédactions de protocoles,
in a caffeinated daze at 2am,
du matin, droguée à la caféine,
that habituation to risk-taking
l'accoutumance au risque
by altering their emotional levels,
en altérant leurs réponses émotionnelles,
that were normally associated with risks,
associées au risque
la culpabilité, la nervosité,
exposed to the risk simulator.
la première simulation.
and enforced self-control,
renforcé leur maîtrise d'eux-mêmes,
from taking more risks.
to the risks through the simulator,
au risque à travers le simulateur,
and stressed they became.
coupables et stressés.
fear and caution instincts.
and their brains are still underdeveloped,
avec des cerveaux sous-développés,
in thrill-seeking behaviors.
par les sensations fortes.
for logical decision-making,
dans leurs prises de décisions,
isn't to blame.
en développement qui est en cause.
also plays a key role in risk-taking
un rôle majeur dans la prise de risque
des risques des ados
and functional changes
structurales et fonctionnelles
that my research was able to highlight
a mis en évidence
change a teen's brain
le cerveau d'un adolescent,
of the immature teen brain
to create more damaging effects.
pour créer plus de dommages.
and the general public
les parents et le public
willfully ignoring warnings
n'ignorent pas juste les avertissements
in increasingly more dangerous behavior.
des comportements toujours plus dangereux.
is their habituation to risks:
leur accoutumance au risque :
and emotional functional changes
physiques et émotionnels
their over-the-top risk-taking.
leurs excessives prises de risques.
that provide safer environments
pour offrir un environnement plus sûr
that reflect this insight.
reflétant mes découvertes.
a wake-up call for teens, too.
pour les adolescents.
and necessary fear and guilt
et la culpabilité naturelles
des situations dangereuses
repeatedly choose risky behaviors.
la répétition de prises de risques.
with fellow teenagers and scientists,
avec d'autres ados et scientifiques,
Science and Engineering Fair, or ISEF,
and Engineering Fair (ISEF),
regions and territories,
research and inventions.
et inventions de pointe.
to experts in neuroscience and psychology
experts en neurosciences et psychologie
memorable moment of the week
mémorable de la semaine
suddenly uttered my name
ont hurlé mon nom
that I questioned myself:
que je me suis demandé
une erreur genre « La La Land »
and Social Sciences."
et Comportementales ».
to have this recognition,
ravie de cette consécration,
of science fair that validated my efforts
expérience de concours
experimenting in my school library
a sort of inspiration.
c'est une source d'inspiration.
taught me to take risks.
m'a appris à prendre des risques.
incredibly ironic.
often come from risk-taking --
viennent souvent de prises de risques,
negative type that I studied,
comme ceux que j'ai étudiés,
my unconventional circumstances,
gérer des situations inhabituelles,
resilience and patience
de ténacité et de patience
have led me to new ideas
à de nouvelles idées :
of negative risk-taking also true?
des prises de risques délétères ?
escalate with repeated exposures?
risques bénéfiques avec l'exposition ?
build positive brain functioning?
un fonctionnement positif du cerveau ?
my next research idea.
mon prochain sujet de recherche.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kashfia Rahman - Psychology researcherKashfia Rahman studies psychology, cognitive science and global health policy at Harvard University.
Why you should listen
The daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants, Kashfia Rahman grew up as a minority in a homogenous community in Brookings, South Dakota. When she was in high school, she noticed her peers frequently succumbing to risky behaviors as well as the ruthless burdens of stress and peer pressure. Working directly on peers at her school, she dedicated research to studying the neuroscientific and psychological processes underlying these behaviors, and how the environment plays a role in emotion-processing and cognitive functioning in teens. With the hopes of raising awareness to minimize the potential for engaging in harmful behaviors, she took her research to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, a culmination of 1,800 students from over 75 countries sometimes described as the "Olympics of science fairs." For her research projects, she was awarded first place in her category as well as was recognized by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse and the American Psychological Association.
Rahman is also a Google Science Fair finalist and a Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholar. Featured in the National Geographic documentary Science Fair for her dedication to science research, Rahman is passionate about sharing her pathway to research and strives to expand the platform for marginalized and disempowered voices. She is also interested in bridging the gender and racial gap in the field of STEM and in advocating for healthy environments to improve teens' behavioral and mental health.
Kashfia Rahman | Speaker | TED.com