The past two decades have been a time of enormous growth in the study of adolescent brain development. Advances in the field have transformed our conceptualization of this phase of life and raised important questions about the implications of the developmental neuroscience of adolescence for policies and practices affecting young people in the realms of education, mental health, public policy, and the law.

Presentations by some of the world’s leading experts on psychological and neurobiological development during adolescence will discuss contemporary research on adolescent brain development and explore some of the ways in which this research is transforming society’s views and treatment of young people. Among the topics to be discussed are the application of findings from developmental neuroscience to the design of interventions aimed at promoting positive youth development, to the creation of public health and educational programs to deter health-compromising behavior, and to changes in policies and practices affecting young people in the legal system.

Faculty:

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, University College London, UK

BJ Casey, Yale University, USA

Eveline A. Crone, Leiden University, the Netherlands

Ron Dahl, University of California, Berkeley, USA

Laurence Steinberg, Temple University, USA