The Teen Brain

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The Latest on Kids, Football, and Concussions

Over the course of the last few years I’ve been working to follow the latest research on the fallout from those blows to the brain known as concussions. I’ve found the work of the Concussion Legacy Foundation to be particularly…
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Males, Females, and Concussions

In recent years, we’ve all become aware of the short and long-term effects of athletes suffering concussions. I know. All four of our children were engaged in athletics, and each one has suffered at least one concussion. Now, a team…
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Smoking, Vaping, and Mental Fog

Have you ever experienced a mental fog? Signs of mental fog include issues with memory, attention, concentration, decision-making, and other cognitive functions. New research reports that people who smoke and vape are those most likely to report struggling with mental…
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The Musical Reminiscence Bump

When people my age were kids, there were only two ways to hear your favorite songs. One was to buy the record and play it over and over again. The other was to wait until the DJ played the record…
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Writing on Screens vs. Paper

Over the course of the last twenty years, I’ve been especially interested in tracking with youth culture trends that are related to the emergence of a host of new technologies and technological tools. A new study of Japanese college students…
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Parenting and the Frontal Lobe

It’s easy to be fooled by appearances. One way in which parents can be easily fooled is by the appearance of a child who has recently passed through puberty. It sure does happen fast, doesn’t it? And on the day…
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Identity and the Peer Group

In her book Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain, Sarah Jayne Blakemore reminds us that for teenagers, what she calls the social self becomes central. A teen’s social self is all about expressing who you and how…
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