Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain

Winner of the 2020 British Psychological Society Popular Science Prize
Winner of the 2018 Royal Society Science Book Prize.
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Up to the minute brain science from a world class scientist. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore explains how the adolescent brain transforms as it develops and shapes the adults we become. ''Beautifully written with clarity, expertise and honesty about the most important subject for all of us. I couldn''t put it down.'' - Professor Robert Winston

Drawing upon her cutting-edge research Professor Blakemore explores:
· What makes the adolescent brain different?
· Why does an easy child become a challenging teenager?
· What drives the excessive risk-taking and the need for intense friendships common to teenagers?
· Why it is that many mental illnesses - depression, addiction, schizophrenia - begin during these formative years.
And she shows that while adolescence is a period of vulnerability, it is also a time of enormous creativity and opportunity.