Frances E. Jensen’s The Teenage Brain

The unpredictable and sometimes incomprehensible moods and behaviors of a teenager can be a head-scratching mystery—especially to parents. Hormones, boredom, social media, peer pressure, and drugs and alcohol are just a few of the factors to consider. Frances E. Jensen, M.D., professor and chair of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania and the mother of two sons who are now in their twenties (along with Washington Post health and science reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner Amy Ellis Nutt) look at the emerging science of the adolescent brain and provide advice based on Jensen’s own research and experience as a single mother.