第2892期:New study shows four pivotal ages for your brain

4,000 brain scans of people up to the age of 90 have revealed our brains go through five distinct eras. The first is childhood. This is when the brain is rapidly growing but getting less efficient over time.

对 4000 名最大年龄为 90 岁的人的脑部扫描显示出我们的大脑会经历五个不同的阶段。首先是童年期。在这个阶段中，大脑会快速地生长，但效率会逐渐降低。

Then, a surprisingly long period of adolescence kicks in, starting at the age of nine and lasting until you're 32 when the brain peaks. You then get the longest stage, adulthood, which lasts three decades.

在这之后，一段漫长到令人有些惊讶的青春期就会开始，这段时期从九岁开始一直持续到 32 岁，那时你的大脑会达到最佳状态。然后你会迎来最长的成年期阶段，持续约三十年。

Then comes 66 and early ageing. The effects are subtle, but the brain is beginning to fragment as smaller regions work tightly together – it's like a band starting their own solo projects. At 83, this accelerates as we enter the final phase.

然后在 66 岁时进入早期衰老阶段。这个阶段的影响并不明显，但大脑会开始逐渐碎片化，更小的区域会开始紧密合作，就像一个乐队中的成员开始推出他们的个人作品一样。到 83 岁时，这个现象会开始加速，大脑进入最后的晚期阶段。