Adolescent Psychopathology and the Developing Brain: Integrating Brain and Prevention Science
Daniel Romer, Daniel Romer (Editor), Elaine F. WalkerBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Within the last decade, researchers have gained a greater understanding of brain development and its extended plasticity throughout adolescence. The implications for our views of mental disorder and its treatment will be dramatic. A central question that this volume addresses is, What does the latest understanding of brain development tell us about the potential for altering the developmental course of mental disorders and enhancing healthy functioning in adolescents? A diverse group of neuroscientists, psychologists, and psychiatrists come together to discuss this question from both a theoretical and practical perspective. The presentations from this fruitful meeting are contained in Adolescent Psychopathology and the Developing Brain: Integrating Brain and Prevention Science, a collection that illustrates how our new understanding of adolescent brain development can lay the foundation for future research and policy.Synopsis
Many of those who frequently interact with adolescents have resigned themselves to the fact that the period between childhood and adulthood is inevitably characterized by risky and unhealthy behavior and also a time when previously healthy children will experience the first signs of mental disorder. Likewise, the popular media often present the adolescent brain as a work in progress, unprepared for the developmental changes that drive unhealthy behavior, and vulnerable to the genetic influences that seem to undermine mental health. But in the last decade, scientists have come to grasp the plasticity of the adolescent brain. Although important findings from both animal and human research show the effects of early maltreatment on brain development and how these effects can be transmitted across generations, new advances in our understanding also promise strategies for reversing these and other genetic predispositions. Research now suggests that mental health professionals and concerned parents may be able to take advantage of adolescent brain plasticity by fortifying strengths, avoiding maladaptive behaviors, and counteracting genes that would otherwise promote mental disorder. At one time considered mutually exclusive, according to the argument diligently supported by Daniel Romer and Elaine Walker, nature and nurture actually work in concert, shaping the development of the mature individual. The implications for our views of the treatability of mental disorder could be dramatic. A central question which this volume addresses is: With treatment and preventive interventions, can we enhance healthy functioning, prevent potential maladaptive behavior, and alter the developmental course of psychological disorders? In June 2005, a diverse group of psychologists, neuroscientists, and researchers came together at University of Pennsylvanias Annenberg Public Policy Center to discuss this question theoretically and practically from a variety of perspectives. The presentations from this fruitful meeting have been synthesized into Adolescent Psychopathohlogy and the Developing Brain: Integrating Brain and Prevention Science, a collection that offers prevention and neuroscience researchers the knowledge and background to embark on the study of developmental psychopathology, and the rationale to chart a new course.