About Synapse

Why this exists

Teenagers are making decisions every day that directly affect their developing brains — about sleep, stress, substances, and mental health. Most of the science on these topics is locked behind paywalls, buried in jargon, or filtered through sources that water it down.

Synapse exists to close that gap. Every article is built from peer-reviewed research and written to be honest, direct, and actually readable — no scare tactics, no oversimplification, just the facts about what’s happening inside the adolescent brain.

The creator

Synapse was built by Dylan Johnson, a student in the Class of 2027 at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut. Dylan started this project out of a belief that teenagers deserve access to the same quality of information that drives real scientific research — presented in a way that actually makes sense at 16.

How articles are sourced

Every article on Synapse draws from peer-reviewed literature, primarily indexed through PubMed and published in journals covering neuroscience, adolescent health, and developmental biology. Sources are cited within each article. If something can’t be sourced, it doesn’t get published.

The goal is accuracy first. Where the science is still unsettled, that’s stated plainly. Synapse doesn’t speculate beyond what the research supports.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections, or ideas for topics — reach out directly.