Brains of Very Smart Kids Mature On Delayed Schedule, Study Says

Summary

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The brain's outer mantle, or cortex, gets thicker and then thins during childhood and the teen years. The study found that in kids with superior intelligence, the cortex reaches its thickest stage a few years later than in other children.

One analysis found the cortex in kids with the highest IQs - 121 to 149 - didn't reach maximum thickness until age 11. Children who were just slightly less bright reached that point at age 9, and those with average intelligence at around 6. In all cases, the cortex later thinned as the children matured.

Nobody knows what's happening within the cortex to make it get thicker or thinner, [Philip Shaw] said, so it's impossible to say why those changes would be related to intelligence. Brain development is influenced by intellectual stimulation, so that probably plays a role, he said.

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Brains of Very Smart Kids Mature On Delayed Schedule, Study Says

NEW YORK - Very smart children, despite their reputation for being ahead of their peers mentally, actually lag behind other kids in de...

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