Unraveling the Mysteries of the Brain Equipped with what are basically multimillion-dollar oversized magnets, doctors can now use MRI to measure how the brain changes as a child matures and learns. Doctors can also see how brains respond when they perform specific tasks like counting to 10. Until recently it was accepted that most of brain maturation occurred in the first 18 months of life and that the process was complete by age 3, but MRI studies are revolutionizing the way we think about normal brain development.
Experts now know that it continues throughout childhood and well into early adolescence.
Starting in 1987, Arthur Toga, Ph.D., professor of neurology and director of the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at the University of California in Los Angeles, and his colleagues repeatedly analyzed the brain scans of healthy children ages 3 to 15 for up to four years. With the help of computers, they tracked changes. In children ages 3 to 6, the area of the brain that helps learn new behaviors and organize new skills underwent the most rapid growth. All rights reserved.