Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff, NPR science correspondent and author of "Dopamine Kids," will speak at Hinsdale Middle School on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

The talk runs from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria and is open to the entire community. The event is part of the Community Speaker Series listed on the Hinsdale Central PTO website. Registration is available at hcpto.org, and a recording will be emailed to all registrants who cannot attend in person.

Doucleff's central argument challenges the standard guidance parents receive about screens. Simply taking devices away doesn't work, she says. It often makes children crave them more.

Her book, published in March by Simon & Schuster, draws on recent neuroscience showing that dopamine drives wanting and desire, not pleasure. Modern technology and ultraprocessed foods exploit that system, leaving kids stuck in a loop of craving without satisfaction.

"In many ways, it's robbing us of pleasure in our lives," Doucleff said in a March NPR interview about the book.

Instead of restriction alone, Doucleff advocates replacing screen time with activities that meet children's fundamental needs for adventure, autonomy, physical exercise and belonging. Her book outlines a five-step protocol for retraining habits so healthier choices become the default at home.

The talk arrives as Hinsdale schools and the state are both tightening rules on student devices. District 181 already requires students at Hinsdale Middle School and Clarendon Hills Middle School to keep cellphones in their lockers during the school day. Hinsdale Middle School Principal Cory Burke told the Chicago Tribune in February that the policy is "about creating the cognitive space necessary for students to trade constant connectivity for deep, meaningful engagement."

Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation on July 28 requiring all Illinois public school districts to implement bell-to-bell cellphone bans before the 2027-2028 school year, Capitol News Illinois reported. For kindergarten through eighth grade, the ban will cover class time, lunch, passing periods and other non-instructional hours. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) was scheduled to release a template policy for districts on Sept. 1.

Doucleff holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, and has worked on NPR's Science Desk. She was part of the NPR team that won a George Foster Peabody Award in 2014 for Ebola coverage. Her first book, "Hunt, Gather, Parent," has sold more than one million copies worldwide, according to the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau.

A prior Community Speaker Series event on youth mental health drew about 100 attendees. Registration for the Sept. 30 talk is available through hcpto.org.