The Teenage Brain: Dr. Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health

Jay N. Giedd, MD, chief of the Section on Brain Imaging, at the Child Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health, presents on the teenage brain during the NYU Child Study Center’s Grand Rounds in March 2012. The plasticity of the teenage brain is both an opportunity and a challenge: as neural connections develop, teens are able to learn more efficiently than adults, while a predilection for sensation-seeking and risk-taking behaviors is a clear characteristic of teenage years.