Human Cerebral Hemispheres Develop at Different Rates and Ages
Abstract
The development of the cerebral hemispheres was assessed by using measures of electroencephalographic coherence and phase in 577 children ranging in age from 2 months to early adulthood. Two categories of age-dependent change in electroencephalographic coherence and phase were noted: continuous growth processes that were described best by an exponential growth function, and discrete growth spurts that appeared in specific anatomical locations at specific postnatal periods. The left and right hemispheres developed at different rates and with different postnatal onset times with the timing of growth spurts overlapping the timing of the major developmental stages described by Piaget.
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Human brain development is structurally and functionally a nonlinear process.
“Human brain development is structurally and functionally a nonlinear process (1–3)”
From Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood (2004) · cites this paper as [2]
Cognitive brain development is heteromodal.
“The heteromodal nature of cognitive brain development is evident from studies of neurocognitive performance (6, 7), functional imaging (functional MRI or positronemission tomography) (8–10), and electroencephalogram coherence studies (1, 2, 10).”
From Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood (2004) · cites this paper as [2]
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- Authors
- Thatcher, R. W., Walker, R. A., & Giudice, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland Eastern Shore (US)
- ORCID
- Thatcher, R. W.
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 1987-05-29
- Volume
- 236
- Issue
- 4805
- Pages
- 1110-1113
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2015761067
- Cited by
- 610
- References
- 10
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 9.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Center for Research Resources (RR08079-0951)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Keywords
- hemispheric lateralization, EEG phase, postnatal development, growth spurt, exponential growth, children, brain maturation
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Brain, Child, Child, Preschool, Electroencephalography, Humans, Infant, Intelligence, Functional Laterality
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