Adolescence is often seen as a turbulent time, especially from the perspective of parents. During the teenage years the individual goes through various social changes within their family, peer groups and culture as well as physically and emotionally. In the following video, Lisa Kudrow (yes, she was biology major!) interviews Abby Baird (a psychology professor at Vassar College in New York) about the teenage brain. Baird provides an interesting discussion about how the adolescent brain can be viewed as an adult brain in practice and how fluctuations in abilities such as decision making can be attributed to this practice. The discussion is aimed at the lay person but also deals with important - and often complex - neuropsycholology and may be a useful resource for parents, teacher and adolescents (among others) to better understand the biology underlying "typical" adolescent behaviour. Baird also makes some important points about applying with caution general findings to individuals (especially around gender) and how key it is for parents to understand their children's own idiosyncrasies.
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