The Teenage Brain

November 17, 2014
When pediatric neurologist Jensen’s sons began exhibiting typical teenage behavior—impulsivity, risk-taking, slipping grades, and mood swings—her professional training prompted her to wonder not only “What were they thinking?” but “How were they thinking?” This well-written, accessible work surveys recent research into the adolescent brain, a subject relatively unexplored until just this past decade. The result illuminates the specific ways in which the teen brain differs from that of a child or an adult. As Jensen explains, while hormones cause some changes, teen behavior—even through the college years—is most influenced by the connections between brain areas still under development, including new brain circuitry, chemicals, and neurotransmitters. This period of growth increases both adolescents’ capacity for remarkable accomplishments and their vulnerability to stress, drugs, sleep deficit, and environmental changes. Chapter by chapter, Jensen covers essential topics: how teens learn; why they need more sleep; coping with stress; mental illness; the “digital invasion of the teenage brain”; and the biological differences between girls’ and boys’ brains. Speaking as one parent to another, she offers support and a way for parents to understand and relate to their own soon-to-be-adult offspring. Agent: Wendy Strothman.

December 1, 2014

They can't help it--teens are in many ways unable to control impulses, make wise decisions, and understand what they do, explains Jensen (neurology; chair, neurology dept., Univ. of Pennsylvania). It's not willful; it's brain chemistry. By understanding relevant brain science, however, parents can find plans of action to help their kids through all the nuances of life in this fraught period. Jensen, with science writer Nutt, explains how teen brains are still developing and changing; nonscientific readers will find a lot of information here about neurology. Yet Jensen is also a parent and imparts deep concerns about the pressures of raising her two sons. Today's parents should not only "tolerate" their kids' behavior--they can use their teens' emotional outbursts and errors of judgment to help them learn, choose, and "wise up," she explains. Jensen supports later-morning starts for school days (teens need morning sleep) and describes exactly what tobacco, alcohol, pot, and hard drugs do to the brain. While parents should understand and use social media, they must set limits for computer and smartphone use. VERDICT Recommended for readers who enjoyed Laurence Steinberg's Age of Opportunity, this title applies new science to the frustrating dilemma of how to live with teenage kids.--Linda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA

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