A scientific study conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge has identified the precise ages corresponding to different stages of human brain development and decline, after analyzing brain scans from 3,802 individuals ranging from birth to 90 years old.
The study outlines five major stages in the life of the brain:
- Childhood (0–9 years): a period of rapid restructuring of neural connections.
- Adolescence (9–32 years): the brain’s “strongest structural turning point.”
- Adulthood (32–66 years): the phase of optimal cognitive stability.
- Early aging (from age 66): the onset of gradual decline.
- Late aging (after age 83): a more pronounced reduction in neural connectivity.
The study, published in Nature Communications, emphasizes that understanding these transitions can help maintain cognitive health as we age.
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