A recent study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience from Penn Medicine reveals the developmental progression of potentially flexible brain regions located in humans from the age of 8 to 23 years old. MRI scans of more than 1,000 people were analyzed to determine a mechanism for ascertaining where and when decreases in plasticity were observed in the brain.
Brain plasticity, or the capacity of neural circuits to change in response to internal and external factors, is commonly understood to be higher in young people. This research provides new information on the specific areas of plasticity and when it begins to diminish.
The analyses found that reductions in plasticity occurred earliest in sensorimotor regions, such as vision and hearing regions. It happened later in associative regions involving higher order thinking, such as problem solving and social learning. These results show that the brain regions involved with executive, social, and emotional functions appear particularly modifiable and responsive to the environment in early adolescence.
The study also looked at how the environment affects brain development in young people, finding that it is strongest when the associative brain regions are most vulnerable. This implies that programs designed to change unequal socioeconomic conditions or alleviate disparities still need to be supported during adolescence.
Lead author Theodore D. Satterthwaite, MD, commented that this research provides a foundation for understanding how environmental influences shape human’s prolonged development cycle. First author Valerie Sydnor expanded on this, saying that our findings show that environmental enrichment programs have a beneficial impact on the neurodevelopmental stage of the brain.
Their team at the Penn Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center (PennLINC) has worked for years to understand brain development in living humans. This study furthers that effort. PennLINC is based at the University of Pennsylvania in the Perelman School of Medicine, and is focused on understanding life-span mental health and developing advanced preservative therapies.
