The Short Answer: Is the Brain Fully Developed After Puberty?

Nick Spitzer: My name is Nick Spitzer, I’m the Atkinson Family Distinguished Professor at the University of California San Diego.

Screen Text: Is the brain fully developed after puberty?

Nick Spitzer: Another myth, that the brain is fully developed by the age of puberty, and that after that it doesn’t change. Well, of course, that’s ridiculous. The brain doesn’t fully mature until mid-20s, well beyond the onset of puberty, and brains continue to change throughout the lifetime. We gain and lose synapses over the course of our lives.