Are you really an adult at 18? According to researchers at Cambridge University, not entirely. Using thousands of brain scans, they were able to show how our brains develop throughout life. Their most important finding: Our thinking organs change in five major phases of life – with clear turning points at ages 9, 32, 66 and 83.
The analysis was based on more than 4,000 brain scans of people of all ages up to 90 years old. This study was published in the journal “Nature CommunicationsResearchers led by Alexa Mousley and Duncan E. Astle examined how networks in the brain remodel over decades.
Five eras, four turning points
Twelve parameters called network organization, namely how well individual brain regions work together, are transferred to the developmental map. In this case, the researchers found a “turning point”, namely the moment at which the brain begins a new era of development. According to Mousley and Astle, this was not a sudden jump, but rather a change in structural direction.
In childhood until about 9 years old, these become interconnected Brain very strong. Gray and white matter grows while each compound loses its efficiency. This is followed by a refinement phase until around age 32 – the brain works with increasing precision. At the average age of 29 years, the tissues in our heads are at their most effective.
At 32, your brain is truly mature
At about 32 years old, the voice was loud Study strongest change. A long and stable adult phase begins: the architecture remains largely constant and the distribution of tasks between brain areas becomes clearer. It is only around age 66 that the connection begins to slowly break down – a process that accelerates at around age 83.
These findings help identify phases in which the brain is most sensitive to disturbances.
“The brain also goes through time”
Senior writer Duncan Astle explained to the Guardian: Many people see their lives as divided into phases – “and it seems the brain goes through such periods too”. Study leader Alexa Mousley added that it was not about adults in their late 20s “acting like teenagers”, but about “patterns of change”.
That Researcher also mentioned that biographical factors such as Becoming a parent could play a role – but this has not been tested. Previous work has provided similar results, sometimes with slightly different turning points.
The bottom line remains the same: Our brains move throughout our lives — and follow very regular patterns.
