The Teenage Brain

A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

By: Frances E. Jensen, Amy Ellis Nutt

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert, Frances E. Jensen

A New York Times Bestseller

Renowned neurologist Dr. Frances E. Jensen offers a revolutionary look at the brains of teenagers, dispelling myths and offering practical advice for teens, parents and teachers.

Dr. Frances E. Jensen is chair of the department of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. As a mother, teacher, researcher, clinician, and frequent lecturer to parents and teens, she is in a unique position to explain to readers the workings of the teen brain. In The Teenage Brain, Dr. Jensen brings to readers the astonishing findings that previously remained buried in academic journals.

The root myth scientists believed for years was that the adolescent brain was essentially an adult one, only with fewer miles on it. Over the last decade, however, the scientific community has learned that the teen years encompass vitally important stages of brain development. Samples of some of the most recent findings include:

• Teens are better learners than adults because their brain cells more readily ""build"" memories. But this heightened adaptability can be hijacked by addiction, and the adolescent brain can become addicted more strongly and for a longer duration than the adult brain.
• Studies show that girls' brains are a full two years more mature than boys' brains in the mid-teens, possibly explaining differences seen in the classroom and in social behavior.
• Adolescents may not be as resilient to the effects of drugs as we thought. Recent experimental and human studies show that the occasional use of marijuana, for instance, can cause lingering memory problems even days after smoking, and that long-term use of pot impacts later adulthood IQ.
• Multi-tasking causes divided attention and has been shown to reduce learning ability in the teenage brain. Multi-tasking also has some addictive qualities, which may result in habitual short attention in teenagers.
• Emotionally stressful situations may impact the adolescent more than it would affect the adult: stress can have permanent effects on mental health and can to lead to higher risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression.

Dr. Jensen gathers what we’ve discovered about adolescent brain function, wiring, and capacity and explains the science in the contexts of everyday learning and multitasking, stress and memory, sleep, addiction, and decision-making. In this groundbreaking yet accessible book, these findings also yield practical suggestions that will help adults and teenagers negotiate the mysterious world of adolescent development.

Definitely a win for a single mother of teens

An excellent way to understand what’s going on with your teenagers is to approach them better

Very much enjoyed

Wish I would have had this book to read when raising my teenage boys. Now it will help with my teen grandchildren.

Great book

Recommend this book to all parents of pre-teen thru young adults and professionals that work with them.

All parents a must Read

This book helped me through the stressful and frustrating years of raising my daughter. May this book bring you relief through the teenage years .

Good Information About How Teens Act

There was a ton of good information in here. The first half of the book was stacked with incredible facts and insights into brain development and how it effects behavior.

The second half of the book gets a little too deep into anecdotes about specific tragedies around specific topics. I wish the narrative stayed on evidence and trends instead of diving into tragedy voyeurism. It seemed like the author went from trying to inform to trying to scare.