The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

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 and an internationally known expert in neurology and the teenage brain. As a mother, teacher, researcher, clinician and frequent lecturer to parents and teens, she is in a unique position to explain to readers the mystery and magic of the teen brain. In The Teenage Brain, Dr. Jensen will bring to readers the new, sometimes astonishing findings that remain buried in academic journals. Along the way, she will explore a few myths about adolescent behaviour and offer pointers and practical suggestions on how to negotiate this difficult and dynamic life stage for parents, teachers and even teens themselves.

The Teenage Brain is one of the first books to focus exclusively on the mind development of adolescents and will dispel the many widespread misunderstandings about teenage brains. Samples of some of the most recent findings that will be discussed in the book include:

• Teens are better learners than adults because their brain cells more readily "build" memories than adults. But this special gift has a downside: their 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.
• Venus and Mars really emerge in adolescence. In fact, 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, as well as in their social behaviour.
• Contrary to popular opinion, adolescents may not be as resilient to the effects of drugs as we think they are. Recent experimental and human studies show that 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 the adult: stress in these years can have permanent effects on mental health and has been reported to lead to higher risk of developing certain neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression.

The book will present hard data intermingled with accessible and relatable anecdotes drawn from Dr. Jensen's experiences as a parent, clinician and public speaker. Finally, The Teenage Brain will offer practical suggestions for how parents, teens, schools and even the legal system can better deal with adolescents on their journey into adulthood.

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.