Morphometric study of human cerebral cortex development

Abstract

Morphometric studies of immature cerebral cortex in humans show developmental changes extending up to the time of adolescence. Growth of dendrites and of synaptic connections occurs during infancy and early childhood. Excess synaptic connections are eliminated during later childhood years. The exuberant connections that occur during infancy may form the anatomical substrate for neural plasticity and for certain types of early learning.