Scientists have identified five major “epochs” of human brain development in one of the most comprehensive studies to date of how neural wiring changes from infancy to old age.
The study, based on the brain scans of nearly 4,000 people aged under one to 90, mapped neural connections and how they evolve during our lives. This revealed five broad phases, split up by four pivotal “turning points” in which brain organisation moves on to a different trajectory, at around the ages of nine, 32, 66 and 83 years.
“Looking back, many of us feel our lives have been characterised by different phases. It turns out that brains also go through these eras,” said Prof Duncan Astle, a researcher in neuroinformatics at Cambridge University and senior author of the study.
“Understanding that the brain’s structural journey is not a question of steady progression, but rather one of a few major turning points, will help us identify when and how its wiring is vulnerable to disruption.”
Brain has five ‘eras’, scientists say – with adult mode not starting until early 30s | Hannah Devlin, The Guardian
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Study suggests human brain development has four pivotal ‘turning points’ at around the ages of nine, 32, 66 and 83
Scientists have identified five major “epochs”… pic.twitter.com/X7i5Uxxc7H