Biography

BJ Casey, Ph.D. is the Director of the Fundamentals of the Adolescent Brain (FAB) lab and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She is a world leader in the field of developmental neuroscience and pioneered the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the developing human brain and delineate sensitive periods of change, particularly during adolescence. Her scientific discoveries have been published in over 200 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals including Nature Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron, PNAS and Science and cited >60,000 times. Her work has been highlighted by NPR, PBS, NY Times, and National Geographic. She has received numerous honors including the Thomson Reuters World’s Most Influential Minds Award, the Social and Affective Neuroscience Society Scholar Award, FLUX Society Huttenlocher Award, the Association for Psychological Science Lifetime Achievement Mentor Award and has served on several National Institutes of Health and National Academy of Sciences committees and advisory boards.

Website: http://fablab.yale.edu/people/bj-casey

Healthy Development as a Human Right: Insights from Developmental Neuroscience for Youth Justice

Session Type: Invited Talk

Abstract

Healthy development is a fundamental right of the individual, regardless of race, ethnicity or social class. Youth require special protections of their rights, in part due to vulnerabilities related to psychological and brain immaturity. These rights include, not only protection against harm, but opportunities for building the cognitive, emotional and social skills necessary for becoming a contributing member of society. This presentation will highlight empirical evidence from developmental science on when psychological and neurobiological development mature; the extent to which this scientific knowledge guides current policies and practices in the treatment of youth in the United States; and emerging policies in the treatment of young people, particularly within the justice system, that are based on developmental science.

Sub Unit

• Invited Program

Moderator

• Andrew J Fuligni, University of California - Los Angeles

Speaker

• BJ Casey, Yale University

Introducer

• Elise Dykhuis, Wake Forest University