The Challenges of Adolescence: Balancing Risk, Novelty, and Self-Control

BJ Casey, Bruce McEwen, Mary Jeanne Kreek, Marc Tessier-Lavigne: On April 10, 2014, the Parents & Science initiative welcomed over 250 guests to the Rockefeller University for the final installment of their annual lecture series at The Rockefeller University. P&S was delighted to host BJ Casey, a developmental psychobiologist at Weill Cornell Medical College, for a talk entitled “The Challenges of Adolescence: Balancing Risk, Novelty, and Self-Control”. Following her presentation, Dr. Casey was joined by two Rockefeller scientists whose research provides compelling insights into the adolescent brain, Bruce McEwen and Mary Jeanne Kreek, for a panel discussion and question and answer session with the audience. The presentation and panel examined the neurological underpinnings of stress, addiction, and other matters of particular interest to parents of teenagers, through the lens of these three leading scientists’ research. Rockefeller President Marc Tessier-Lavigne hosted the program and moderated the informative conversation that followed.