[Source:  Psych Central]

Pushing boundaries and taking risks during adolescence is common, but for some the behavior becomes maladaptive.

Emerging research is now illuminating the source of this behavior providing insights that will be helpful in reducing unsafe teen conduct.

In a new issue, Florida State neuroscientist Pradeep Bhide, Ph.D., brought together some of the world’s foremost researchers in a quest to explain why teenagers — boys, in particular — often behave erratically.

The result is a series of 19 studies that approached the question from multiple scientific domains, including psychology, neurochemistry, brain imaging, clinical neuroscience, and neurobiology.

The studies are published in a special volume of Developmental Neuroscience, “Teenage Brains: Think Different?”

“Psychologists, psychiatrists, educators, neuroscientists, criminal justice professionals, and parents are engaged in a daily struggle to understand and solve the enigma of teenage risky behaviors,” Bhide said.

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