WASHINGTON (AP) — Can you get smarter than a fifth-grader? Of course, but new research suggests some of the brain’s basic building blocks for learning are nearing adult levels by age 11 or 12.
It is the first finding from a study of how children’s brains grow. The most interesting results are yet to come.
About 500 super-healthy newborns to teenagers, recruited from super-healthy families, are having periodic MRI scans of their brains as they grow up. They also get a battery of age-appropriate tests of such abilities as IQ, language skills and memory.
The project, funded by the National Institutes of Health, is tricky work.
Move during an MRI, and the image blurs. Because scientists cannot sedate healthy children, they are having to get crafty to keep their subjects still. Tired toddlers are put in the scanners at naptime; mom squeezes in for a cuddle and earplugs help block the machines’ noisy banging. Six-year-olds wear earphones and watch favorite videos beamed into the scanner.
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