The Deciding (Adolescent) Mind: If we were to ask you if swimming with sharks was a good idea, what would you think ( beside that we were crazy), and how long would it take you to answer that question? If you’re not a parent of an adolescent, you might be surprised. Yes, adolescents eventually do come up with the right answer, but it can take them almost half a second longer than an adult to answer “ No thanks! ”. Hey, maybe it might be cool to swim with a shark! That delay is a lifetime to neuroscientists. Dr. Abigail Baird, a leading researcher in adolescent brain development (and mom) has a lot to tell us about what bio-psychologists are finding out, and what that knowledge tells us about being human. Join us this Sunday morning, 8/19/12 at 11:00 on WGXC radio (90.7 in the Hudson Valley or on the internet) for a great discussion about adolescents, the prefrontal lobe and other related brain regions (that enough should get you excited), and the deciding (adolescent) mind. Abigail Baird earned her B.A. in biopsychology from Vassar College and her M.A. and PhD. in developmental psychology from Harvard University. Her research interests include the integration of emotion and cognition across development, with a particular focus on neural development during adolescence. She is currently working on a series of studies that examine how teenagers use emotional and cognitive information to inform their decision-making. Her other interests include neuroimaging, as well as the influence of psychological science on law and public policy.