Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and reassuring book.
Review: I don't have children, but I do have an interest in mind and the brain, so when an on-line friend, Steven Haines, recommended it I decided to read The Primal Teen. As catchy as the title may sound, the book is actually quite serious about the subject of the developing teenage brain. Although the author is not herself a neurologist or neuroscientist, she is a skillful journalist (New York Times and Newsday). The topic is well researched with primary sources taken from prestigious professional journals like Nature Neuroscience, Brain Research, Journal of Comparative Neurology, Cerebral Cortex, Annals of Neurology, etc. While some of those articles cited are late 1980s, most are 1997 to 2002 (the book was published in 2003). Ms Strauch also interviewed some of the researchers personally for their input on what the scientific data are likely to mean and how it impacts teens and their families. Topics covered are: where the new data are coming from; teens and impulsive behavior; the whens, wheres, and whys of changes in the structure of the brain; what animal studies have to say about development of the brain in adolescents; why teens take risks; why teens seem to keep late hours and sleep late in the day; the chemistry of the brain and puberty; and the effects of drugs, tobacco and alcohol on growing brains. I was a little frustrated with the lack of actual suggestions for parents on how to cope with their changing teen. To some extent the anecdotal stories of some of the researchers who had teenaged children and those from the author herself provided insight into possible approaches, but on the whole very little by the way of helpful problem solving was offered. This may well be because too little has yet been done to make definite statements. The book at least helps a parent understand that their teenagers are "normal" despite the apparent erratic behavior they exhibit, that patience is the most likely route to a successful rite of passage, and most importantly that "this too will pass." An interesting and reassuring book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and reassuring book.
Review: I don't have children, but I do have an interest in mind and the brain, so when an on-line friend, Steven Haines, recommended it I decided to read The Primal Teen. As catchy as the title may sound, the book is actually quite serious about the subject of the developing teenage brain. Although the author is not herself a neurologist or neuroscientist, she is a skillful journalist (New York Times and Newsday). The topic is well researched with primary sources taken from prestigious professional journals like Nature Neuroscience, Brain Research, Journal of Comparative Neurology, Cerebral Cortex, Annals of Neurology, etc. While some of those articles cited are late 1980s, most are 1997 to 2002 (the book was published in 2003). Ms Strauch also interviewed some of the researchers personally for their input on what the scientific data are likely to mean and how it impacts teens and their families. Topics covered are: where the new data are coming from; teens and impulsive behavior; the whens, wheres, and whys of changes in the structure of the brain; what animal studies have to say about development of the brain in adolescents; why teens take risks; why teens seem to keep late hours and sleep late in the day; the chemistry of the brain and puberty; and the effects of drugs, tobacco and alcohol on growing brains. I was a little frustrated with the lack of actual suggestions for parents on how to cope with their changing teen. To some extent the anecdotal stories of some of the researchers who had teenaged children and those from the author herself provided insight into possible approaches, but on the whole very little by the way of helpful problem solving was offered. This may well be because too little has yet been done to make definite statements. The book at least helps a parent understand that their teenagers are "normal" despite the apparent erratic behavior they exhibit, that patience is the most likely route to a successful rite of passage, and most importantly that "this too will pass." An interesting and reassuring book.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for teen advisors and parents
Review: I have referred this books to many other parents, our school advisors, and other professionals. Barbara's work is incredible, humorous, timely, and full of rich meaningful content.
I use this book as a mental framework for understanding teens, not that I subscribe to the brain development as the only explanation of teen behavior.
A book to read, re-read, and take to parenting groups.
Vastly sage, articulate, and informative.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book! An instant classic
Review: I loved this book. The 'Primal Teen' is funny, superbly written, and packed with the latest science of brain development. The author explains how the brain develops in childhood, in the teenage years, and beyond, and how this provides insights into the inner workings of the teenage mind. An award winning science and medical Editor for the New York Times, Barbara Strauch makes the latest scientific findings on the teenage brain come to life. The 'Primal Teen' distils a year long personal enquiry into an action packed journey. Based on insightful interviews of experts in the science of brain development, the author shows how their findings can be relevant and exciting for parents. She brings together a fascinating array of findings, and a good measure of common sense, to help explain why teens are the way they are, and how to better understand the teenage years. The book is extraordinarily well researched; as its chapters unfold, the author beautifully conveys the excitement and bewildering implications of current research on brain development. Recent years have seen a revolution in this field. Biological changes in the teenage brain tie in with the complex behavioral changes as well, and underlie many aspects of cognitive, emotional and social maturation in early and late adolescence. The author combines cameos of the researchers she interviewed with carefully explained summaries of their findings and why they are relevant. As a researcher in the field, I think this book is a treasure; it's very difficult to put down once you start reading it. My wife loved it as well. This book shows how the science of teenage development is surprising, perplexing, and fascinating. The 'Primal Teen' will be an instant classic. It fills a gap that no academic book could fill: it's a whirlwind introduction to what makes teenagers tick.
Rating:
Summary: Primal Primer
Review: I think this is a really good book, offering a lot of new insights into why teenagers are the way they are. "The Primal Teen" doesn't bill itself as a self-help book, but I've found it very useful in helping to sort out what's going on in MY household.
Rating: 
Summary: What's Wrong with Adult Brains?
Review: I worked with children and teens in their families for 15 years, and what I saw is
reflected in cold statistics--American adults don’t need flattering reassurances that we’re
okay, we need a hard slap of reality. Sixty percent of American parents’ marriages end in
divorce today, subjecting kids to unbelievable conflicts. American adults and parents are,
by far, the most violent, drug-abusing, criminally arrested, imprisoned, obese, and
unstable of any Western nation, and all of these adult crises have skyrocketed in the last
four decades.
Today, 20 million teens have been subjected to their parents’ family breakup, 10
million young people grow up with parents who are heavy drinkers or dug addicts, more
than 1 million youths suffer parents arrested for felonies every year (several hundred
thousand of whose parents are imprisoned), and hundreds of thousands of youths are
confirmed victims of violent and sexual abuses in their homes every year. Compared to
parents in other Western countries. Americans are far more likely to use psychiatrists,
Ritalin, forced institutionalization, police interventions, harsh restrictions such as curfews
and drug tests, violent punishments, and lengthy imprisonments on children and
teens--and we complain we STILL can't control our kids!
Strauch’s book, of course, sticks safely to abstract theories and pleasing anecdotes
and touches on none of these disturbing realities. She gushes over pompous claims by a
few self-praising bio-researchers that their overblown, post-1996 notions invalidate all
the thousands of practical research studies on adolescents and adults that came before.
Unfortunately, neurobiological research is notoriously inconclusive--conscientious
experts (not numbered among the ones Strauch interviews) readily admit that our
knowledge of how brain organization processes affect real-world behavior is woefully
primitive.
What counts is that decades of practical research tests involving real-life decision
making have shown that teenagers and adults think very much alike. In fact, teenage rates
of violent crime, homicide, suicide, unplanned pregnancy, HIV infection, heavy drinking,
drunken driving accidents, smoking, obesity, and so forth, closely follow the
corresponding rates among adults of their families and communities--a fact that is
impossible to explain if teenage and adult brains are fundamentally different.
The reason Strauch’s book has no “practical advice†for parents is because this
book has no relevance to practical, real-life situations beyond the self-serving anecdotes
she chooses. No wonder Americans praise and make best-sellers out of books that skip
over how alarmingly American middle-aged behavior has deteriorated and flatter us that
the whole problem is that teenagers can’t think straight.
Mike Males, Santa Cruz
Rating: 
Summary: Good point, fuzzy argument
Review: The strength of the book is in its message: teenager's brain undergoes a tremendous change, and realizing this would greatly help parents, teachers and others dealing with teens. The book's weakness is in the details: the science is muddled and the narrative often confused, leaving many of the open questions on the table.
The book's central point is that during teen years kids develop the part of the brain, prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for putting the brake mechanism in their decision making system. Without this part well developed, kids seem to have no way of restraining and analyzing their free-ranging emotions. Hence attitude problems, blow-ups and other unfortunate trademarks of the age.
This process of brain development helps better understand the behavioral peculiarities of teens (aloofness, thrill seeking, even drinking and smoking). The prefrontal cortex, which is under construction throughout the teen years, requires large amounts of dopamine, the neurotransmitter instrumental in our feeling of wellbeing. Because of this, during these years there is much less dopamine in other parts of the brain. So, to feel good teenagers need to bombard their brain with much stronger stimuli. Hence drugs, alcohol etc. Immediately, though, Strauch contradicts herself: she claims that teenagers are awash in dopamine, the "reds are redder" for them, they see the world in much accentuated colors. On top of that, estrogen, the hormone produced in women, and to a lesser extent in men, revs up dopamine as well. The author never comes to a conclusion on whether teenagers have dopamine in excess or lack it. For practical purposes, if much of teenage brain is lacking in dopamine and they are naturally looking for stimuli we should provide them with the ways to take safe risks (if they take a rock climbing class they may not want to drag race that car). If, instead, teenagers were swimming in dopamine, this strategy wouldn't be as insightful.
Smoking girls are found to loose 10% of their memory aptitude. But on the same page (186) nicotine is claimed to improve memory and learning. The score is never tallied: does nicotine enhance or inhibit brain functionality?
The gender differences are jumbled as well. The author reassures that women's brains, although smaller than men's, run "hotter". So the size does matter? No supporting evidence is offered. Estrogen, responsible for increase in dopamine, is much more abundant in woman's brain than in man's. But whether it contributes to age-specific differences between genders during teen years is never explored.
The book mentions, importantly, that good family relationships would outweigh the chemical and neurological imbalance of teenager's brain. This surprising fact should have been given much more attention in the book, since it may reinforce an action plan for a family of a teenager.
A good practical point is "ask for one thing at a time", since teenagers often seem incapable of keeping track of more than one task.
On balance, the heart of the book is in the right place, its brain - not quite. The main message - pay attention to this kid's brain development, you will understand much more of her - is fully deserving. The book's topic is important, and more coherent popular literature on it is needed. I hope that someone would pick up the slack.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific Book!
Review: This book is simply wonderful. Finally someone took the time to talk with all the leading researchers around the country about what's really happening inside teenagers' heads. In understandable language, it explains how, just like the teenage body, the teenage brain is growing and changing, and what the changes can mean. We all know how much parents and friends mean to a teenager, but here we find out what else makes a big difference. The book even tells you what's happening in their brains that make them start sleeping so late. It well-written, and the stories about teens are a delight.
Rating:
Summary: The Primal Teen
Review: This is a must read book for all parents! Author Barbara Strauch presents the latest scientific findings regarding the teenage brain in a highly readable, even enjoyable layperson's format. This book gives incredible insight into why our teenagers act and think the way they do. It also allows us a view into the latest medicial thinking--including the vast amounts learned only recently and how much is still to be discovered. I think parents will find this book enormously useful, as well as comforting, in their everyday interactions with their kids. Kudos to author Strauch for bringing us new insights and for dispelling some long held myths.
Rating:
Summary: Must Read for Parents and Teachers
Review: This is a very important book that is a must read for parents and teachers and anyone else who deads with teenagers. It reports on the latest scientific discovers in a well-writter manner that the average person can understand. It will also give adults wonderful insight into their own teenage years.
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