Teens’ Self-Consciousness Linked With Specific Brain, Physiological Responses

In a study of 69 people aged 8 to 22, simply being told that a peer was watching them on camera inside an MRI scanner produced embarrassment, physical arousal and activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, all peaking in adolescence. Teenagers also showed a stronger link between that region and the striatum, which the authors suggest may help explain riskier behaviour around peers.