How risk-taking changes a teenager's brain

Dr. Frances E. Jensen is chair of the department of neurology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a prominent neurologist. In this New York Times bestseller, she portrays an innovative way to think about the brains of teenagers, dismissing myths and the importance of environment. As a mother, teacher, researcher and clinician, she has distinctive perceptions to explain to her readers the mechanism of the teen brain in the contexts of everyday learning, stress and anxiety, memory, sleep habit, addiction and decision-making. This book provides practical suggestions that will help adults and teenagers to navigate the mysterious world of teen development.

The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council organize workshops that address different aspects of teen health and development. The focus of this workshop was to address teens’ tendency to engage in risky and reckless behaviors. The workshop has found significant evidence that the greatest contributors to morbidity and mortality in adolescence are not disease and illness, but instead such behaviors as unsafe driving; experimentation with alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs; and unsafe sex. The findings emphases on individual and contextual influences and encourage more policies that limit exposure to high-risks and provide a safer, supervised environment.

Dr. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. It's no doubt that brain development impacts teenagers' behavior and many parents approach their child's adolescence with fear and unease. But, in this New York Times bestseller, Dr. Siegel shows parents exciting ways in which understanding how the teenage brain functions can help parents turn the adolescent period into the most rewarding one. Parental engagement is important and if parents and teens can work together to form a deeper understanding of the brain science behind all the turmoil, they will be able to navigate the environment and social barriers.

The website is a project of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The purpose of this site is to facilitate learning about the effects of drug use on the brain, body and lives of teens. This site provides the latest facts and resources on how drugs affect the brain and body for teens, parents, teachers and the public featuring videos, games, blog posts and more.

Dr. Garrett in his recent research published in Nature Neuroscience finds that telling small white lies desensitizes our brains to the associated negative emotion which may take our brains down to a "slippery slope," escalating into big lies. Most people feel guilty when they intentionally lie with a burst of activity and negative feelings. However, repetition desensitizes brain to these associated negative emotions and responses decline which may lead to more lies. The study explains the power of habituation.