Scientists Unveil How the Mind Grows and Adapts Across Life

In 2025, scientists in the United Kingdom identified four clear turning points in the human brain, showing that our brain continues to develop into the early thirties and reshaping how we understand growth, learning, and ageing.

“The brain is always rewiring, but this shows it does so in distinct phases rather than one smooth journey,” said Dr Alexa Mousley, neuroscientist and lead author at the University of Cambridge.

By analysing brain scans from around 4,000 people aged up to 90, researchers found five life phases with pivotal ages at nine, 32, 66, and 83, marking shifts in how brain networks strengthen, stabilise, and reorganise. The findings help explain why learning peaks in early adulthood, why mental health risks cluster at certain ages, and why cognitive change later in life follows predictable patterns, offering valuable insight for education, mental health care, and healthy ageing strategies.