• Scientists have pinpointed five different "eras" of brain aging, from childhood to old age. • The eras include a prolonged "adolescent" brain phase that lasts from about age 9 to 32. • "This is a very cool study," another brain scientist said.

Your brain goes through five distinct life stages as you age, with a massive teenager phase from nine to 32.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge's cognition and brain sciences unit have used images of roughly 3,800 "neurotypical" brains, ranging in age from birth to 90, to pinpoint these turning points where our brains change shape to serve different functions as we grow, age, and eventually decline.

Roughly speaking, ages nine, 32, 66, and 83 mark pivotal shifts in how our brains operate.

"This study is the first to identify major ph

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