In the first research published from a national study of almost 500 children, ages 6 to 18, it is reported that by ages 11 or 12 children perform close to adults on many cognitive and behavioral skills. The initial findings from The NIH Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Study of Normal Brain Development found that while children improve rapidly in many cognitive skills between ages 6 and 10 there are not large changes during adolescence.

The researchers also found support for the general tendency for males to be superior on spatial skills and females on verbal skills although these differences were more nuanced than often reported.

The preliminary data from this study are intriguing and suggest this may prove to be a landmark study as further findings are released.

Further Reading:

Waber DP et al. “The NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain Development: Performance of a Population Based Sample of Healthy Children Aged 6 to 18 Years on a Neuropsychological Battery.” Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 2007, Vol. 13, pp. 1-18.