• Question: Does the brain develop more than the body during puberty

    Asked by benzo to Tim on 23 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Tim Fosker

      Tim Fosker answered on 23 Jun 2011:

      Hi @benzo

      Thanks for a great question. Although I think this is difficult to answer. Both the brain and body develop during puberty, but I’m not sure how we would measure by how much they develop? Would we compare the number of new cells, size of the areas or the amount of change in function?

      It is a really difficult question and I know a lot more about brain development than body development – so I’m sorry I can’t give you a strong answer. I can say that during puberty parts of the brain develop very quickly (the prefrontal cortex is one part), but actually there is also a loss of some connections between parts of the brain and the strengthening of other connections.

      I hope that helps. Let me know if you find out more.

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