What are they thinking?! : the straight facts about the risk-taking, social-networking, still-developing teen brain / Aaron M. White, Scott Swartzwelder.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-264) and index.
Contents
Teens and their brains. A work in progress ; The frontal lobes : captains of the ship ; Beyond the frontal lobes ; White matter matters ; Show some emotion ; The reward system and the pursuit of pleasure ; To stress or not to stress ; The straight dope on the dopamine connection -- Mental health. Stress ; From stress to anxiety ; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ; Depression ; Suicide ; Anorexia nervosa ; Bulimia nervosa ; Schizophrenia -- Food. Food for thought ; The trouble with sugar ; The trouble with caffeine ; How many calories do adolescents need? ; When does overweight become obese? ; Anorexia and bulimia ; What should teens eat? -- Sleep. This is your brain on sleep ; Setting the brain's clock ; How much sleep do teens need? ; The importance of bedtime ; Tips for improving teen sleep -- Driving. Driving : a whole brain exercise ; Driving on the wrong side of the brain ; Why bad accidents happen to good teens ; Graduated licensing ; Keeping teen drivers safe -- The digital world. This is your brain on social media ; Social animals and cyber peeps ; Lost and found in the land of games ; The terrible power of viral humiliation ; I heart you ; The pornographication of the teenage brain ; Computing time on the computer -- Sex and sexuality. The battle of the teenage sexes ; The real story on hormones ; I don't like that attitude! ; The word of the day is : sex ; Abstinence or contraception ; Pornography ; Talking to teens about sex -- Drugs. The power of reward ; The addictable teen brain ; From stimulants to opiates : the 411 on individual drugs ; Keeping your teen off drugs -- Violence. Bang! pow! pop! ; Violence short-circuits brains and lives ; The dangers of desensitization ; Bullying ; Television violence ; Video game violence ; Minimizing violence -- Afterword. Helping teens take healthy risks ; What more can we do?
