What impact does stress have on the growing brain?
In: Biology
[According to Psychologist Daniela Kaufer,](https://www.verywellmind.com/surprising-ways-that-stress-affects-your-brain-2795040) when it comes to [stress](https://www.tuw.edu/health/how-stress-affects-the-brain/), there are two kinds, broadly speaking. The first kind can be called “good stress”, which is the kind of stress you experience when you are completing a challenging task or getting through a workout. The second kind of stress is chronic stress, which is marked by a pattern of stress over a long period of time.
Chronic stress could be induced by a demanding job, growing up in a bad home environment, being in a toxic relationship, etc. Chronic stress puts a lot of strain on the brain, causing a host of problems. To understand these problems better, we first need to understand the structure of the brain.
The brain is made of neurons (cells that carry electrical signals) and cells supporting these neurons. Depending on the kind of cells supporting the neurons, we get what is known as “gray matter” and “white matter” in the brain. [“Gray matter”](https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/articles/gray-matter-vs-white-matter-322973) is responsible for functions such as attention, memory, thought, and emotional control. This contrasts with [“white matter,”](https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/articles/gray-matter-vs-white-matter-322973) which essentially acts as the wires connecting areas of gray matter in the brain together. White matter gets its name from the fatty white substance known as [myelin](https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002261.htm) that covers parts of the neuron, speeding up signals.
[Researchers at UC Berkeley](https://news.berkeley.edu/2014/02/11/chronic-stress-predisposes-brain-to-mental-illness/) found that chronic stress alters brain structure by increasing the production of myelin-producing cells while decreasing the production of new neurons. This imbalance of white and gray matter in the brain ends up [decreasing one’s abilities in memory, decision-making, and emotional control](https://www.verywellmind.com/surprising-ways-that-stress-affects-your-brain-2795040). While the effects of this imbalance are relevant to people of all ages, they are especially impactful to children with developing brains.
According to Mark Cloutier, executive director of San Francisco-based Center for Youth Wellness, [kids who have been exposed to a large amount of chronic stress have damaged prefrontal cortexes.](https://youthtoday.org/2016/05/teen-stress-and-the-growing-brain/#:~:text=Chronic%20exposure%20to%20stress%20can,based%20Center%20for%20Youth%20Wellness.) The [prefrontal cortex ](https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/prefrontal-cortex#:~:text=The%20prefrontal%20cortex%20is%20the%20association%20cortex%20of%20the%20frontal%20lobe.&text=The%20Orbitomedial%20cortex%20is%20involved,is%20involved%20in%20cognitive%20functions.)is mostly made up of gray matter, and acts as the executive control center of the brain (think like the CEO of the brain). When this area of the brain is damaged, [our ability to solve complex problems, think ahead, and control our emotions becomes inhibited](https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com/blog/2014/5/16/know-your-brain-prefrontal-cortex#:~:text=Patients%20with%20prefrontal%20cortex%20damage,and%20the%20inhibition%20of%20impulses.&text=Patients%20with%20prefrontal%20cortex%20damage%20can%20experience%20blunted%20emotional%20responses,their%20ability%20to%20make%20decisions.).
TLDR: Chronic stress during brain development stunts our abilities to solve complex problems, think ahead, and control emotions.
Latest Answers