Posted on 04/08/2006 5:34:20 PM PDT by voletti
The pattern of brain growth during development may figure more importantly than overall brain size when it comes to intelligence, according to a new study. Scientists have found that the smartest kids start off with a relatively thin cerebral cortex--the outer layer of the brain associated with thought and other higher order functions--which thickens rapidly by age 12 before undergoing the same general diminishment as that of their peers of average intelligence.
"Brainy children are not cleverer solely by virtue of having more or less gray matter at any one age," says Judith Rapoport of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, Md. "Rather, IQ is related to the dynamics of cortex maturation."
(Excerpt) Read more at sciam.com ...
Hey, there's still hope for my 21 year old son!
I like to say I gave the rest of the world a seven year head start, just to make it fair.
Is this related to the story claiming that future conservatives are immature when toddlers.
Hah! I remember that recent thread, great point!
My dad was a pretty smart guy. He didn't talk until he was two. When he did start talking it was in complete sentences. I guess he wanted to do it right the first time!
My son said only a few words for the longest time, but I knew he was smart by his ability to pull compplex items apart and put them back together again. Then, out of nowhere, here comes sentences.
I should remind my sister of that when she frets that her 18 month old daughter hardly speaks.
This may be anecdotal, but the dumbest person I ever knew as a child had an absolutely huge head, and unless he kept extra laundry or snacks in there, he also had a huge brain. He died in high school in a drowning accident. He was at a popular beach with lots of people around but no life guard, There was no energency or any warning, he just drowned.
My wife learned to talk at age two and hasn't stopped since.
btt
She must be my wife's sister. ;^)
Most people are not aware that the military does not accept for officer-status, "boys" who have been prescribed such such drugs. The ADD/ADH racket was a racket from the get-go. And what the long-term goal was, I'll leave for others to decide.
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