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November 25, 2025<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Scientists Identify Five Distinct Eras of Human Brain Development<\/p>\n
Human brains go through five distinct phases of life, each defined by its own set of characteristics, according to a new study<\/p>\n
By Claire Cameron edited by Clara Moskowitz<\/span><\/p>\n A representative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tractography image of the first era of the human brain. In a new study, this image is representative of the general pattern seen across brains during the second era of neural wiring, the adolescent phase.<\/p>\n Alexa Mousley\/University of Cambridge<\/p>\n The human brain experiences five distinct eras as we age, and each is defined by changes in our neural architecture that influence how we process information, new research shows. The brain changes associated with these stages shape how our mind ages and ultimately declines.<\/p>\n In a study published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, researchers compared the brain scans of 3,802 people between zero and 90 years old. By mapping the brain\u2019s connections over time, the scientists detected four turning points in brain structure over the course of a human life: at age nine, 32, 66 and 83.<\/p>\n What this means, according to the researchers, is that our brain\u2019s connections wire themselves in pretty much the same way from birth to nine years of age. Then our neural architecture starts to organize differently as we enter adolescence, continuing through age 32. At this point, the brain\u2019s structural development appears to peak, according to the study.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we find suggests that the journey from childlike brain development to this peak in the early 30s is distinct from other phases in the lifespan,\u201d says Alexa Mousley, the study\u2019s lead author and a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge.<\/p>\n \u201cThis doesn\u2019t mean that the brain of a 17-year-old and a 30-year-old look are the same\u2014it\u2019s specifically that the types of changes occurring … are consistent,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n At age 32, the brain\u2019s longest rewiring era begins, marking the opening of the adult years. It\u2019s at this point that brain architecture starts to stabilize compared withthe previous phases, and Mousley says this corresponds to past research that found that there is also a \u201cplateau in intelligence and personality around this time.\u201d<\/p>\n After the mid-60s, brain connections start to deteriorate. And by the last turning point, 83 years old, connectivity declines even further.<\/p>\n In a recent statement, Duncan Astle, a professor of neuroinformatics at Cambridge and a co-author of the study, said these epochs of brain development may mirror how humans experience changes over time.<\/p>\n \u201cLooking back, many of us feel our lives have been characterised by different phases,\u201d he said. \u201cIt turns out that brains also go through these eras.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear what these major shifts can tell us about learning and development in the brain, Mousley says. Past research has also pointed toward distinct phases of brain development through the lifespan, and it remains unclear how lifestyle factors or other variables may influence brain aging in individuals. And while the new study finds an obvious peak in efficiency in one\u2019s early 30s, that could be linked to evolution, lifestyle changes or genetic factors.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are all just potential ideas\u2014we truly don\u2019t know,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" November 25, 2025 2 min read Scientists Identify Five Distinct Eras of Human Brain Development Human brains go through five distinct phases of life, each defined by its own set of characteristics, according to a new study By Claire Cameron edited by Clara Moskowitz A representative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tractography image of the first<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[4191,2121,4454,16533,761,7710,384],"class_list":{"0":"post-35202","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-aging","9":"tag-brain","10":"tag-distinct","11":"tag-eras","12":"tag-human","13":"tag-identify","14":"tag-scientists"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
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