The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries about the Teenage Brain Tell Us about Our Kids

by Barbara Strauch

A groundbreaking look at the teenage brain for anyone who has puzzled over the mysterious and often infuriating behavior of a teenager.
 
While many members of the scientific community have long held that the growing pains of adolescence are primarily psychological, Barbara Strauch highlights the physical nature of the transformation, offering parents and educators a new perspective on erratic teenage behavior. Using plain language, Strauch draws upon the latest scientific discoveries to make the case that the changes the brain goes through during adolescence are as dramatic and crucial as those that take place in the first two years of life, and that teenagers are not entirely responsible for their sullen, rebellious, and moody ways. Featuring interviews with scientists, teenagers, parents, and teachers, The Primal Teen explores common challenges–why teens go from articulate and mature one day to morose and unreachable the next, why they engage in risky behavior–and offers practical strategies to help manage these formative and often difficult years.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Psychology, Science, Education, Brain, Neuroscience

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Barbara Strauch was deputy science editor of The New York Times in charge of health and medical science. She was the author of two books, “The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain,’’ on the surprising talents of the middle-aged mind, published in April 2010, and “The Primal Teen,’’ on the teenage brain.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the first few chapters, I definitely skimmed this book—I was looking for some insight into teenage behavior and perhaps some advice about how to deal with my kid. Mostly I got the same basic brain injury/development stories about Phineas Gage and terry cloth monkeys and language that I’ve read in about a million other places already. Given that reading background, I’m not the right audience for this book. It’s also likely that this book was probably better when the brain science it describes was brand new. At this point I felt like I was reading really long explanations of very obvious (at least obvious in 2018) brain facts and pretty obvious specific-to-teenagers info. They do dumb stuff sometimes without really knowing why; their brains aren’t fully developed; they fall deeply and distractedly in love very quickly; they sleep in...uh huh. All this I already know.

[JaNel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite quote: Parents sometimes need to act like their teens’ frontal cortex

discuss, discuss, discuss.


Same excellent information as in Parenting the Teenage Brain. In case you need two sources. 😂

P. 8 " The teenage brain...is still very much a work in progress, a giant construction project. Millions of connections are being hooked up; millions more are swept away. Neurochemicals wash over the teenage brain, giving it a new paint job, a new look, a new chance at life. The teenage brain is raw, vulnerable. It's a brain that's still becoming what it will be."
..."crazy by design...moments of mayhem as well as growing precision and passion"

p. 15 "gray matter thickening and thinning at a level that was supposed to be over at kindergarten."

P 21 aadolescence and the terrible twos… These are when children show the most astounding changes in behavior.”

Teens need parents to set boundaries
Parents need to act like their teens’ frontal cortex.

[Claudette Hovasse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one several times for a faculty read. It always reminds me that teenagers do not think like adults do and we have to remember to be more forgiving with them but also remind them that we are human being with emotions too.

[Alexa Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great resources, good perspective on what the teen brain is like. This is a few years old so I'm sure that there are some updates to this but the overall framework is good and the idea that we have to continue to look at the teenage brain is really well-emphasized here.

[Claudia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing new here. I was anxious (and desperate?) for some insights into the teenage brain, but was left with nothing beyond what common sense and experience had already taught me.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've ever asked yourself why your otherwise smart child does dumb stuff, read this book. Hormones take a lot of the blame but the brain plays a great role. An eyeopener.

[Giana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really insightful and interesting to those invested in psychology , especially developmental.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

To textbooky

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

As it turns out, teenagers may, indeed, be a bit crazy. But they are crazy according to a primal blueprint; they are crazy by design.

I read through page 59 (I was required to read the first couple chapters of this book as a part of my Library Science Graduate Class, Materials for Young Adults)

Interesting quiz: How Well Do You Know the Teen Brain?

[Peter Galamaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I strongly recommend this book to parents of teens and all teachers.

Pros
- Gives some perspective to those of us frustrated with illogical, emotional behavior. There are scientific reasons for this. We don't get angry and yell at a baby for pooping in his diaper because that's what babies do. Similarly, while we shouldn't ignore inappropriate behavior by our teens, we also need to understand why it's happening and perhaps learn to take a few deep breaths when it's happening...VERY deep breaths.

-Several real life examples that will strike most as familiar.

- Solid science to share with teens about the possible LIFELONG brain impact that drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes may have. This part made me cringe a little. Even common college drinking may possibly cause significant damage.

- Explains the serious sleep deficits kids are dealing with. What can we do about this re: school schedules, heavy activity schedules, and even ..yes my hardcore teacher friends... backing off on homework!

- While reading this book I found myself chuckling while dealing with my classes and my own kids instead of getting angry. For that alone, reading this book is worth it.

Cons
- The author sometimes gets bogged down in the science. All I need to know is that a reputable study reached certain conclusions and what they mean to me. I don't want to walk through the steps of the study and what people did with rats.

-As far as brain research goes, this book is a bit dated (2002 or so). A lot has happened in the field of brain research. That is why I STRONGLY recommend also reading The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. These two books together will forever change how you look at kids and even yourself. And that's no hyperbole!

[Jobiska (Cindy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although of course, as the author herself implies, any book about neuroscience is going to be outdated by the time it hits the shelf, there is not much out there for the lay reader, especially on the new research into what's happening in the teen brain. Therefore, this book does fill a necessary spot in a parent's library. If the only function it serves is similar to the book "Yes, your teen IS crazy!" in helping relieve a parent's mind that *they* are not the one going insane--the hormonal/neurological/sociological etc. stuff happening to the teen is actually causing what seems like temporary insanity--then it has done its job. But it does more--it blasts old notions that probably linger on in popular thought that brain growth, etc. are basically finished by the time a kid is a preschooler. Furthermore, later chapters on studies of the effects of alcohol and nicotine on these various things that are happening in the teen brain might just do the trick in persuading teens with a bent for science to abstain. If binge drinking as a teen (rat or human), even months after the fact, affects memory more than binge drinking as an adult, that is pretty significant. I'd definitely recommend this to any parent of a teen who does not have access to more direct information about neuroscience and teens--it's an interesting overview and points out not only what is currrently known or posited but many different directions and needs for future research.

[Viv JM · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for the Book Riot Read Harder Challenge to "read a non-fiction book about science". I was a little disappointed with this choice. It's very much a science book written by a journalist and didn't feel "science-y" enough! The tone was rather anecdotal and informal, which made it an easy enough read. However, many of the scientific studies cited seemed to be about adolescent rats or monkeys. Either that, or they were of the "when we do this, the brain lights up here" type, which I am rather suspicious of, since reading Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference (which I thoroughly recommend, by the way). Having said that, it did contain some interesting information and ideas, particularly relating to melatonin and sleep which do help explain some of the changes in the sleep behaviour of my 16 year old son, so I'm glad I read it.

[Ruthmgon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting. The writing is a bit rambling, but takes complex ideas and makes them easy to digest in laymans terms.

I dont have teenagers or work with them,but the main points from this book bear repeating: the brain does not stop growing until the early twenties. That the ability to reason well is not possible as a teenager because the frontal lobe is not fully formed is fascinating. The recent MRI scan studies that show the responses in the teenager being inside the am--- forgetting my brain lingo here--- the site of emotions and instinct seems very plausible. Scarier is the health affects that alcohol and cigarettes have on young brains making anxiety and memory loss more certain as an adult. And...That not taking risks in this age is just as damaging to your healthy brain development!!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could there be a more timely book for me to read? I wanted to underline, highlight passages, and write certain kids' names next to some sections. The book came out in 2003, so this isn't fresh, new information. You have likely heard bits and pieces of it already. And if you have teens or were a teen (assuming we all were), then much of it you intuitively know. Teens need more sleep! Really? AND the sky is blue? You don't say! But what this book does is provide the biophysical reasons behind some of the more maddening teen behaviors. There are specific reasons why teens stay up late and are tired and draggy in the mornings and want to sleep til midday on weekends. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has teens or will have them soon. I can't promise it will give you all the answers, but it did help me with my perspective (aka, my patience level).

[Pauline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think a better subtitle of this book would be something along the lines of "Current Hypotheses About the Teenage Brain based on Ongoing Research". I felt much of the information was not definitive and was simply sharing what current neuroscientists are guessing based on their current inconclusive research. Given this book was published 13 years ago, it's probably not worthwhile to read today. I actually almost decided to abandon it but did make myself finish reading it. I just started another book which seems very similar although better written and with updated research as it was just published in 2014 Age of Opportunity: Lessons from the New Science of Adolescence,so far I'm enjoying this book much better.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it when a book for a "popular" audience actually describes science well. I focused on developmental neuroscience in grad school and love that the author has taken scientific findings and presented them clearly. It is reassuring to parents of teens (as well as teens themselves) that their brains just aren't fully developed yet -- that they can be brilliant in numerous ways and yet still make stupid decisions, and it's to be expected, and we need to assume that will happen and do what we can to help. (I also like the fact that my graduate advisor is one of the scientists in it, and he mentions his teenage son, who was only nine when I last saw him...) I've used this in teaching middle schoolers about the brain, and they find it really interesting.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy-to-read synthesis of new research showing that the teenage brain is still growing and fashioning itself. The author points out that "the new brain science gives us another arrow in our quiver of respsonse" to the turbulence of adolescence.

One of the new nuggets I gleaned: teenagers, because of the way that melatonin is secreted in their brains, are biologically wired to stay up late and sleep in. Strauch wonders if this was because their sharp eyes were needed to warn of predators when our species was sleeping in caves. (Of course, say I, they would have all been yakking on their new bone-phones). High-school administrators: think of starting school later, in tune with the students' biorhythms.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

An upbeat and often amusing look at some of the changes that take place physiologically in the brain during the teenage years. Explains why teens may engage in risky and thoughtless behavior, why they may stay up all hours of the night, and why they sleep like the dead. Chemicals in the brain may influence their behavior during these years, but a healthy family environment can go a long way to curbing/changing/softening some of that behavior. Parents will be relieved to know that they *do* grow out of it. Eventually. Although it doesn’t offer many solutions to dealing with problem behaviors in teens, it does explain what some of the underlying causes might be, so at least one can gain a better understanding of what’s going on. Entertaining and engrossing.

[Marla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone I've ever known points to the unpredictable actions of teens as the result of "raging hormones." Apparently that's only one part of the story. The Primal Teen cites research that shows massive brain changes in adolescence are both the cause and the result of experiences in the teen years. It's an accessible and eye-opening book for any parent or teacher who wants greater insight into their teenagers' actions and is looking for ways to help them transition into healthy, well-balanced adults. I only wish there was a follow up to this book, since much of the research was unique and fairly new at the time and the book predicted that we should know more in the near future (certainly by now).

[Gail Jeidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for parents of teenagers. While I've heard and read much about the teenage brain, this book offers all the needed information in one place. Here's one of my underlined sections:

"...as the teenage brain is reconfigured, it remains more exposed, more easily wounded, perhaps much more susceptible to critical and long-lasting damage than most parents and educators or even scientists had thought. Adolescence, some neuroscientists now warn, may be one of the worst times to expose a brain to drugs and alcohol or even a steady dose of violent video games...if the teenage brain is changing so much, we have to think about what kinds of experiences we want that growing brain to have.."

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been frustrated this year. I don't believe that the district or the administration has been implementing policies which work well with teenagers. After reading this book, I'm now sure of it.

When I ordered this book off of Amazon, I was looking for a book which was a friendly read yet would still explain the latest developments in science on the adolescent brain. This book is a friendly compilation of both research and anecdotal evidence. The science was brought down to such a level that I was able to follow along even though it's been almost 30 years since my last biological science class. (I couldn't stand dissection labs in biology so I opted for earth sciences in college.)

I'm going to pass this book on to some of my colleagues. I look forward to discussing it with them.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard rave reviews about this book. I kept wondering when it was going to be so amazing. It was okay but not amazing. For being based in scientific research it is a easy read sprinkled with stories and mostly interesting research. Basically, the research isn't all out yet (surprise! Is it ever?) but what they do know is the teen brain is still forming and changing for sure. Sleep is hugely important, hormones affect it, drugs and alcohol may have lasting damage...all things I think I would've guessed. It was however a good reminder to encourage teens to THINK their way through things instead of just telling them what to do....hmmm.

[Christy Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I somewhat impulsively grabbed this at the library. Not really intending to read it, I thumbed through the first few pages, and initially wasn't terribly impressed. I found the author's writing to be very awkward and at times somewhat condescending. However, after reading the first few chapters, I really became engrossed in the subject matter, despite the annoying way in which it the information was given. Apparently by brain -actually my whole CNS - is still changing. Synapses are being trimmed back, and my central nervous system is still myelinating, allowing for more complex levels of understanding and thought (plus more emotional stability - haha!).

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good homeschooling friend recommended this book when Son1 was on the cusp of teenhood, and, I, in turn, recommend it to anyone who have teens/tweens, or people who write for the YA crowd.

Barbara Strauch summarizes current research (as current as a book can be given publication lag times) about the teenage brain from various scientific and medical disciplines for the layman reader, making this an immensely readable volume. It was helpful to understand, and therefore forgive, some of the stupid things my teens did or behaviors they exhibited.

I read this sometime in 2005/2006...

[Ronni · Rating 4 out of 5]

another book you get at the library because the library doesn't have the book you wanted... i heard the author on the radio and wanted to read her new book but i'm reading her old book for now. it's pretty cool.

******

I really liked the science-y part but I could do without the anecdotal part. (I don't care if the author's husband has damage to the Broca region, you know?) Guess that's what makes science accessible for most readers, so I'll let it slide.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Primal Teen provides a good survey of some of the current research being done looking at how teenager brains are in the process of changing which helps explain some of the challenges that teenagers face. That said, I found the book's conclusions inadequate. I believe that even in the midst of the changing brain, there is much that can be done to help a teenager develop there character which can offset many of the things than are happening on the biological level.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

- Read this for work because I'm doing a presentation on adolescent brain development.

- I found it to be an easy read which moved quickly. A lot of the information was review for me so I'm not sure how people would feel about it and how everything is explained if they were completely new to the world of brain development.

- I'd love to see a new book with updated findings based on all the research done in the past 10 years since The Primal Teen came out.

[Kaitlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having to read this for a college class, I found this very interesting. I actually learned so much just by reading this, and I'm glad that scientists are learning more about the teenage brain. Being a teenager myself, life can get kind of scary, but I'm really glad that they emphasized that there are extreme changes going on in the brain and adolescents cannot help it. However, parents still have a major role in shaping a teenager's life, so they can't just blame the "science" of it all.

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness! So insightful and fun. Whenever a teenager in our house flips out I have several new things to say. My favorite, "Since your pre-frontal cortex isn't fully formed, I will have to act as your rational, logical voice." I also look forward to saying, "That's just your amygdala talking."

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far this is turning out to be an even mix of interesting read and dry stuff to get past so that I will get into the next interesting part. But all good stuff about what neurologists have found out about teen brains.