The Behavioral Neuroscience of Adolescence
“[R]efreshing and comprehensive….an excellent resource for any professional who works with adolescents.” (Gregory Barclay, MD - ASAP Newsletter)“Spear’s thorough and remarkably accessible synthesis of recent research on the neuroscience of adolescence lays to rest any misguided notion that adolescence is little more than a social construction. Not only is this the best book ever written on the biological bases of adolescence, it is one of the most important books written about this stage of development, period. Every serious student of adolescence, whether a neuroscientist or not, must read this book.” (Laurence Steinberg, Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, Temple University, and author of Adolescence)“[A] very detailed and well-written introduction to the growth and functioning of the brain and its relation to adolescent thought and behavior.” (PsycCRITIQUES)“Dr. Spear brilliantly captures the complexity of adolescent and, likewise, the complexity of studying adolescence. Her work underscores the many levels of analysis needed to understand the adolescent brain, the respective degree of error in measurement at each of these levels, and how simplistic theories of adolescent brain development cannot adequately capture this developmental period.” (BJ Casey, PhD, Director of The Sackler Institute at Weill Cornell Medical College)“I recommend this book for both neuroscientists and parents. Dr. Spear has written a masterly, insightful, and scholarly work covering a broad range of complex topics including genetics and epigenetics, neuroanatomy, synaptic cell biology, adolescent psychology, and how they all drive adolescent maturation.” (Fulton T. Crews, PhD, Bowles Center for Alcohol Studeis, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill)