So what makes the teenager's brain so complex? What drives adolescents — more than any other age group — to sometimes make foolish or questionable decisions?

　　If you have ever thought that the choices teenagers make are all about exploring and pushing limits, you get the point. Experts believe that this tendency marks a necessary period in teen development. The process helps prepare teenagers to face the world on their own. It is something all humans have evolved to experience — yes, teens everywhere go through this exploratory period. Nor is it unusually special to people: Even laboratory mice experience a similar stage during their development.

　　For example, laboratory experiments show that young mice stay close by their mothers for safety. As mice grow, their behavior does too.“When they reach puberty, they're like，‘I'm going to start checking out how this environment looks without my mom ...’” explains Beatriz Luna, of the University of Pittsburgh.

　　As a developmental cognitive neuroscientist (认知神经科学家), Luna studies

　　those changes that occur in the brain as children develop into adults. She and other researchers are showing how the teen experience can lead to powerful advantages later in life. Take mice again: Young mice that explore most tend to live longest — that is, unless a cat eats them, Luna adds.

　　语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。主要讨论了青少年成长的过程中，大脑的变化促使他们区别于其他年龄段的人。

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