Growing up may officially begin later.
Neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that the human brain experiences four turning points throughout life: determining that adolescence begins around the age of 9 years and lasts up to 32 years on average, according to a study published in the journal Natural communications November 25.
The study compared the brains of 3,802 people between age from 0 to 90 years and found that there are five phases of the brain: childhood from birth to 9 years, adolescence from 9 to 32 years, adulthood from 32 to 66 years, early aging from 66 to 83 years, and late aging from 83 years.
As noted in the study, when a person is over 30, he brain neural network shifts into adulthood, which then leads to the longest era, as adulthood can last up to three decades.
“Around age 32, we see the most directional changes in wiring and the largest overall trajectory shift compared to all other turning points,” said lead researcher Dr. Alexa Moseley said in Press release November 25. “Although puberty provides a clear onset, the end of adolescence is much more difficult to pinpoint scientifically. Based solely on neural architecture, we found that adolescent changes in brain structure end around the early thirties.”
