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In recent years there have been tremendous advances in understanding how brain development underlies behavioural changes in adolescence. Based on the latest discoveries in the research field, Eveline A. Crone examines changes in learning, emotions, face processing and social relationships in relation to brain maturation, across the fascinating period of adolescent development. This book covers new insights from brain research that help us to understand what happens when children turn into adolescents and then into young adults. Why do they show increases in sensation-seeking, risk-taking and sensitivity to opinions of friends? With the arrival of neuroimaging techniques, it is now possible to unravel what goes on in an individual's brain when completing cognitive tasks, when playing computer games, or when engaging in online social interactions.

This volume brings together an interdisciplinary group of leading scientists to examine how the adolescent brain develops, and how this development impacts various aspects of reasoning and decision-making, from the use and function of memory and representation, to judgment, mathematical problem-solving, and the construction of meaning. The contributors ask questions that seek to uncover the basic mechanisms underlying brain development in adolescence, such as: How do the concepts of proof and reasoning emerge? What is the relationship between cognitive and procedural understanding in problem-solving? How can researchers build assessments to capture and describe learning over time? The Adolescent Brain raises questions relevant to young people's educational and health outcomes, as well as to neuroscience research.

Children with developmental disabilities inhabit a gray zone: they live and learn under normal conditions in some aspects of their lives, while their "inconvenient brains" present a range of challenges in other school and life contexts. Dr. Martha Bridge Denckla provides parents and educators with general knowledge, research findings, and practical recommendations about a variety of these developmental conditions, including dyslexia, dyscalculia, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, problems with motor coordination, and executive dysfunction. Inspired by her efforts to explain these conditions to parents over 45 years of clinical practice, she provides a science-based understanding of the issues in an accessible format.

Using the latest neuroscience research to enhance literacy instruction Wiring the Brain for Reading introduces teachers to aspects of the brain's functions that are essential to language and reading development. Marilee Sprenger, a specialist in learning and the brain, provides practical, brain friendly, strategies for teaching essential skills like phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The author's innovative approach aligns well with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and is designed to enhance students' motivation and excitement in reading.