GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THIS HANDBOOK

Amygdala: Situated in the centre of the brain. Connects many areas of the brain and plays an important role in learning, cognition, and the processing of emotional memories.

Cerebellum: A cauliflower-shaped object that are positioned below the occipital lobe, next to the brain stem. Involved with coordinating our muscles and movement. Current research found that it also links with cognition, novelty, and emotions.

Dopamine: A strong and general neurotransmitter mostly involved in producing good moods or feelings.

Melatonin: A hormone that is associated with regulating the sleep schedule.

Parietal lobe: Situated at the top of the upper brain, it’s one of four major areas of the cerebrum (the others are the occipital, temporal, and frontal lobes). This area receives and process sensory information from the opposite side of the body. It also plays a part in reading, writing, language, and calculation.

Synapse: The junction area between neurons. When an axon of one neuron frees neurotransmitters to stimulate the dendrites of another neuron, the resulting junction area of reaction is a synapse. A fully developed brain has trillions of synapses.

Frontal lobes: One of four main areas of the cerebrum, the

upper brain area (the others are the occipital, parietal, and

temporal lobes). Controls voluntary movement, verbal

expression, problem solving, willpower, and planning.

References

Forster, K., & Jensen, F. (2015, January 25). Secrets of the Teenage Brain. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from The

Guardian website: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/25/secrets-of-the-teenage-brain

Q&A with Frances E. Jensen and the audience of the Guardian Newspaper, facilitated by Katie Forster

Gurian, M., & Stevens, K. (2004, November 1). With Boys and Girls in Mind. ASCD, 62(3), 21-26. Retrieved from

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov04/vol62/num03/With-Boys-and-Girls-in-

Mind.aspx

Accessed Online

Nutt, A. E., & Jensen, F. E. (2015, January 3). Teen girls have different brains: Gender, neuroscience and the truth

about adolescence. Retrieved March 21, 2015, from Salon.Com website:

http://www.salon.com/2015/01/03/teen_girls_have_different_brains_gender_neuroscience_and_the_truth_a

bout_adolescence/

This excerpted form a book by Ellis and Nutt

The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults”

Zamosky, L. (2011, March 25). How Boys and Girls Learn Differently (R. Benoroch, Ed.) [Fact sheet]. Retrieved

March 21, 2015, from WEB MD website: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/how-boys-and-girls-

learn-differently

Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and

Curriculum Development.

DellaVella, J. (2015, March 9). Brain Inside the Teenage Brain M 01 Title 01 [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogchMEBSMUU&list=PLFrGoq0iQCyiYuMqDhWzHsiBysSWeDWDu&t

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Anatomy of a teen brain. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2015, from

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenbrain/work/anatomy.html

Moorhead, J. (2013, January 19). Raising girls: The challenges of bringing up daughters. Retrieved March 22, 2015,

from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jan/19/challenges-of-raising-girls