Topic
Brain development research, explained
10 open-access brain development studies, each with a flashcard deck and a quiz.
- How does the brain's outer layer change during adolescence?
During adolescence, the brain's outer layer shrinks in volume primarily because it becomes thinner, not because its surface area decreases.
- How does the human brain structurally change as we grow up?
Brain structures change significantly from childhood to adulthood, but the way researchers adjust for overall brain size can dramatically alter their conclusions about these developmental patterns.
- How Premature Birth Alters Early Brain Network Development
Babies born prematurely show a relative preservation of core brain connections but have reduced connectivity in local pathways compared to babies born closer to their due dates.
- How does preterm birth affect newborn brain networks?
Preterm birth disrupts the development of functional brain networks at normal term age, causing widespread reductions in network strength alongside an abnormal increase in specific movement-related connections.
- How reliable are children's brain scans across different scanners?
Brain scans of children show adult-like functional networks that reliably predict cognitive ability, though scanner differences significantly alter these patterns.
- How does brain development vary from person to person?
While most teenagers show similar patterns of overall brain shrinkage and white matter growth, individuals vary widely in the timing, speed, and direction of these structural changes.
- How prenatal stress and early birth affect the baby's brain
Being born early and being exposed to maternal stress before birth both reduce the functional connections between the amygdala and other key brain regions in newborns.
- How do brain connections change during teenage puberty?
As young people grow up, connections between emotional brain centers and thinking brain regions weaken, a process driven more by puberty than age.
- How Brain Connections to the Striatum Develop in Autism
While typical individuals show decreasing brain connectivity to the striatum as they mature, individuals with autism show atypical increases in these connections over time.
- Maternal Obesity Affects Newborn Brain Wiring
Maternal obesity is linked to altered functional connectivity in the brains of newborn infants across networks regulating behavior, taste, reward, and movement.