Brain reorganization occurs earlier in girls, explains why they mature faster

As we grow and mature, our brains also undergo significant reorganization and pruning. A detailed study of how the brain's connectivity changes over time recently published in the journal Cerebral Cortex reveals that this reorganization tends to happen earlier in girls, which may help explain why they mature faster. Neuroscientists at Newcastle University in the UK used diffusion tensor imaging to study the brain's wiring in 121 healthy people between the ages of 4 and 40. The researchers found that connections in the brain tend to get more streamlined over time, which can allow for faster and more efficient information processing. Still, plenty of long-range connections are preserved, especially those that play a role in integrating information. The scientists found that this process happens earlier in females and may explain why girls tend to reach maturity faster: their brains become more efficient at information processing at an earlier age than boys. The research may also help shed light on alterations in brain connectivity that have been linked to disorders like schizophrenia and autism.

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Journal article: Preferential Detachment During Human Brain Development: Age- and Sex-Specific Structural Connectivity in Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) Data. Cerebral Cortex 2013; doi: 10.1093/cercor/bht333