Blame My Brain: the Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed

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It might be hard to believe, but the square marked A and the square marked B here are exactly the same shade of grey. We don't "see" it this way, she explains, because "when it comes to determining the colour of objects around us, our visual system can't afford to be too literal". Instead, our understanding of colour is relative, contextual; we automatically adjust for cast shadows, mentally lightening the objects they fall on. Humour is a really helpful tool in de-escalating situations. This needs to be judged carefully and without sarcasm I only wish that this book had been around when dealing with my own teenager's antisocial behaviour. TES

Nicola Morgan is an international speaker and award-winning author for and about teenagers. She has written nearly 100 books, including novels such as Fleshmarket (currently being adapted for the London stage) and Mondays are Red, but in the last twelve years she has become increasingly well known for her passionate factual work on adolescence, with Blame My Brain - The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed and The Teenage Guide to Stress being seminal titles for teenagers and the adults who work with and care about them. A former teacher and dyslexia specialist, Nicola now writes and speaks around the world on a range of subjects relating to adolescence and wellbeing, as well as the reading brain, reading for pleasure and the effects of life online. Her positive, respectful and empathetic attitude towards young people naturally led her to write Positively Teenage. Author of over 100 books; many awards including the School Library Association’s Outstanding Contribution to Information Books Ocr tesseract 5.1.0-1-ge935 Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 1.0000 Ocr_module_version 0.0.16 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-NS-2000624 Openlibrary_edition A perfect example occurred to me this week during a modern language class. I explained complicated grammar to a group of 15-year-old students. They were not overly pleased, of course, and moaned and complained about it. All of a sudden, one student understood the structure of the sentence we were going through, and could apply his knowledge to any other sentence in the workbook. He was incredibly pleased with himself, and bragged about it happily, as teenagers do. He also made a point of telling me how good it felt, and I agreed.

Nicola Morgan Press Reviews

Teenagers and their parents will find much to fascinate them in this updated edition of Nicola Morgan’s skilful, non-scientists explanation of the complex and specific science that makes teenagehood such a specific period of growing up. Morgan breaks scientific ideas down into manageable and interesting chunks, and uses a combination images and quizzes to aid her explanations. Blame My Brain was the first book in the world to show teenagers what’s going on in their heads. It changed the way adults think about adolescence. It speaks directly to teenagers but parents and teachers usually grab it and devour it eagerly. What scientists have discovered about the teenage brain will amaze, empower and reassure you, whether you’re a teenage or an adult who cares about teenagers. In a forthcoming paper at the journal Psychological Science, psychologists Azim Shariff, Joshua Greene and six of their colleagues bring these heady issues down to earth by considering whether learning about neuroscience can influence judgments in a real-world situation: deciding how someone who commits a crime should be punished. As I said, I don’t write in a “teenage” way but there are still things that have changed since 2013 (and certainly since 2005) and as a writer I care very much about word choice and what feels “right for now”. Here are some things I looked out for:

New research has revealed even more about the workings of the brain and it appears that teenagers are wired somewhat differently. That’s especially true when it comes to sleep – as all parents of teens know well! It is also true in regard to the taking of risks and to the taking of stimulants. Those with dementia tend to have lowered levels of embarrassment, even when watching themselves sing along to cheesy Motown hits. Contrary to popular (parental) opinion, teenagers are not the lazy, unpleasant louts they occasionally appear to be. During the teenage years the brain is undergoing its most radical and fundamental change since the age of two. Nicola Morgan's carefully researched, accessible and humorous examination of the ups and downs of the teenage brain has chapters dealing with powerful emotions, the need for more sleep, the urge to take risks, the difference between genders and the reasons behind addiction or depression. The revised edition of this classic book contains important new research, including information on mirror neurons and their effect on the teenage brain. The unease people feel originates in a misconception of self as separate from the brain, said National Institute of Health neuroscientist Mark Hallett."None of the points I made in the 2013 edition have become less valid. Phew! The research says the same as it did before, just more strongly. Teenage brains are special in just the way I said! 2. The teenage brain My own guess is that it isn't neuroscientific determinism per se that challenges our ideas about free will and moral responsibility. Instead, it could be that simply describing mental processes in terms of the brain discounts our usual explanations for behavior in terms of people's intentions, beliefs and desires. As argued by philosopher Eddy Nahmias and others, it's this replacement of a mentalistic vocabulary with talk of the brain that seems to cut out the intentional agent, the freely willing "I." Most importantly, Nicola cares about your wellbeing and has masses of science-based advice to help you be healthier, stronger, happier and more successful. Some random facts: Nicola Morgan (2013). Blame my brain. The amazing teenage brain revealed. Walker Books Ltd. London. Tell your teenager you care about them – or show them with a small gesture: a hug, some praise, a card with a message of appreciation, let them choose a family activity or meal