As of: February 29, 2024, 10:00 p.m
By: Nico Reiter
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The brain changes throughout life.
Neuropsychology provides insights into when certain areas of the brain are fully developed.
Munich – The 18th birthday is often celebrated as the beginning of adulthood.
From this point on you are of age and enjoy many new freedoms.
But are you really an adult at this age?
Neuropsychology looks for the answer to this question in the human brain.
The growth of the brain: gray and white matter
Not only the body, but also the brain continues to develop during childhood and adolescence.
It consists of gray and white matter and contains over 3000 types of brain cells.
Using magnetic resonance imaging, it was found that the gray matter grows until the age of around 25 and the white matter grows until the age of 30, as
spektrum.de
reports.
The volume of gray matter increases significantly until the age of six, after which this growth stagnates.
During puberty, the gray matter actually shrinks slightly.
The human brain grows as it grows up © Science Photo Library/Imago
Signs of growing up?
The prefrontal cortex is fully developed by age 25
The prefrontal cortex is particularly relevant when it comes to the question of when the brain becomes an adult.
This area continues to develop until the age of around 25 and influences, among other things, planning, thinking and processing complex information as well as anticipating consequences.
A study by the National Institutes of Health in the USA recognized this connection as early as 2005. “When we started, we thought we would follow children until they were 18 or 20.
If we had to give a number now, we would probably say the age is 25,” explains Dr.
Jay Giedd, lead author of the study.
However, it is important to note that there are large differences between individuals and that development or growth in certain brain areas does not necessarily correspond to changed behavior, the researchers emphasize.
Difficult to determine specific age - The brain goes through individual development
The neuroscientists Dr.
Richard Bethlehem and Dr.
Jakob Seidlitz, who analyzed brain scans across people's entire lifespans for a paper, cannot determine an exact age: "It depends on how you define adulthood." Different characteristics and the associated areas reach their peak at different times in life.
But even after this peak, there is constant change in the brain.
The age of mid-25 is repeatedly cited in research as a point in time at which many developmental processes in the brain are completed.
From the age of 30, the brain begins to shrink slightly, according to
spektrum.de.
Nevertheless, it remains malleable and capable of learning.
Diseases like Covid can have negative effects on the brain.
Only after the age of 70 does the breakdown accelerate and connections are lost.
However, with a few tips, the brain can be kept fit for a long time.
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