The Mystery of the Teenage Brain
Discovery
BBC
4.3 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2022
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
‘Why are teens prone to risky behaviour?’ asks Dr Mark Gallaway, ‘especially when with their friends?’ 13 year old Emma wonders why she’s chatty at school but antisocial when she gets home. And exasperated mum Michelle wants to know why her teens struggle to get out of bed in the morning.
Swirling hormones and growing bodies have a lot to answer for but, as Professor of Psychology from the University of Cambridge Sarah-Jayne Blakemore explains, there’s also a profound transformation going on in the brain.
Hannah and Adam discover how the adolescent brain is maturing and rewiring at the cellular level and why evolution might have primed teens to prefer their peers over their parents. Frances Jensen, Professor of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, tells us how all these brain changes can impact social relationships. And Dr Rachel Sharman, a sleep researcher from the University of Oxford, reports the surprising findings from her sleep study tracking 100 teenagers around the UK.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to tell you why I love podcasting. |
| 0:04.3 | I'm Sasha Johansson, I'm an Assistant Commissioner for the BBC and I work on making podcasts. |
| 0:11.1 | My real passion is discovering unbelievable unheard stories and working with the biggest |
| 0:16.8 | stars who can really bring those stories to life. |
| 0:20.0 | I love the whole process of making podcasts from the spark of an idea to hearing the final |
| 0:25.9 | edit. |
| 0:26.9 | There's nothing like it. |
| 0:27.9 | What makes BBC podcast special is that we're working for you, so whatever we commission |
| 0:32.6 | has to reflect the things that you care about and love, wherever you are in the UK. |
| 0:37.0 | So if you like this BBC podcast, there's so much more to discover. |
| 0:40.6 | Have a listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:42.9 | I had this secret. |
| 0:45.1 | I wrapped banks in my spare time. |
| 0:49.0 | Lives less ordinary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:52.1 | This is not a good thing to do because police are after you. |
| 0:57.4 | Find out more at the end of this podcast. |
| 1:28.0 | Today we are talking about people accused of being lazy, rude and surly. |
| 1:33.4 | People who make poor decisions based on confused logic and rampant self-interest. |
| 1:38.2 | Now are you talking about British politics again, Hannah? |
| 1:41.1 | Not this time. |
| 1:42.1 | No, today we are talking about teenagers. |
| 1:44.7 | And okay, those are the stereotypes about teens that they're absolute worst, but Adam, |
... |
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