Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain - Softcover

Blakemore, Sarah-Jayne

3.81

1,085 ratings by Goodreads

9780857523716: Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0857523716 ISBN 13: 9780857523716

Publisher: Doubleday, 2018

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The brain creates every feeling, emotion and desire we experience, and stores every one of our memories. And yet, until very recently, scientists believed our brains were fully developed in childhood. Now, thanks to imaging technology that enables us to look inside the living human brain at all ages, we know that this isn’t so – that the brain goes on developing and changing right through adolescence into adulthood.

So what makes the adolescent brain different? What drives the excessive risk-taking or the need for intense friendships common to this age group? Why does an easy child become a challenging teenager? And why is it that many mental illnesses – depression, addiction, schizophrenia – begin during these formative years.

Drawing upon her cutting-edge research in her London laboratory, award-winning neuroscientist, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore explains what happens inside the adolescent brain, and what her team’s experiments have revealed about our behaviour, and how we relate to each other and our environment as we ?go through this period of our lives. She shows that while adolescence is a period of vulnerability, it is also a time of enormous creativity – one that should be acknowledged, nurtured and celebrated.

Our adolescence provides a lens through which we can see ourselves anew. It is fundamental to how we invent ourselves.

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Review:

"The best science writing helps us to look at ourselves and our world in new ways, and does this by combining compelling storytelling with scientific depth and detail. This book not only has all of these qualities, but also has something to offer every reader - whether you are a teenager, parent of a teenager, or just interested in understanding your former teenage self." (Professor Brian Cox)

"Completely captivating ... Blakemore explains the science behind teenage behaviour in a lucid and engaging way, deconstructs the myths that surround it, offers new insight into how we should treat teenagers, and reflects on how our new knowledge might usefully influence policy decisions. ...This is truly a book that everyone should read." (Professor Dame Frances Ashcroft, chair of Royal Society Prize judges and professor of physiology at Oxford)

"Absolutely fascinating" (Louise Minchin BBC Breakfast)

"An engaging and interesting book, written comprehensibly for a non-specialist audience. You will understand your children and your former selves better for reading it and you will bust a few myths as you go." (The Times)

"There are few people more qualified to explain [adolescence] than the author of this compelling book. What I enjoyed most about this book was the readability and personal style of the narrative. Blakemore manages to present a highly accessible account of the science, without ever compromising on detail or depth...there is almost a sense that the reader is in the lab, listening in on the discussions and taking part in the decisions....This book has something to offer everyone ... Blakemore provides a unique and very up-to-date insight into the changes that occur during this intriguing period." (Dr Catherine Loveday The Psychologist)

Book Description:

Award-winning neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore has revolutionised the way we think about the brain. In her exciting book debut, she explains the adolescent brain, its transformations, and how it ultimately shapes the adults we become.

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