Smarter Children's Brains Develop Later

After analyzing brain scans of hundreds of children over almost two decades, researchers have found that the brains of smarter children develop later in life than the brains of children with average intelligence.

In all children, the Cerebral Cortex grows thicker to a certain point and then thins out during the next few years. In children with average intelligence this thinning out starts at around age 7. In children with above average intelligence, the thinning out doesn't start until as late as age 13.

It is still unclear what factors, besides genes, may contribute to this difference, but environmental factors have not been ruled out.

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