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The Mystery of the Teenage Brain

Dr Adam Rutherford and Dr Hannah Fry investigate everyday mysteries sent by listeners.

‘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.

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Mon 9 May 2022 00:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 2 May 2022 19:32GMT
  • Tue 3 May 2022 03:32GMT
  • Tue 3 May 2022 04:32GMT
  • Tue 3 May 2022 08:32GMT
  • Tue 3 May 2022 12:32GMT
  • Tue 3 May 2022 19:32GMT
  • Mon 9 May 2022 00:32GMT

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