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If the number of brain cells is taken as the basis for brain development or degeneration, then the human brain reaches its peak development around the age of six, after which it only declines.
So why do we still feel that a person's intelligence and wisdom improve with age? Why do we always assume that older people possess wisdom that younger individuals lack? And it’s not just that—psychological research has indeed found that human intelligence continues to grow until around the age of 20, then enters a stable plateau period, only gradually declining after 40. Even as intelligence declines, experience and knowledge continue to accumulate.
In other words, what governs our intelligence is not just the number of brain cells—there are other crucial factors at play. One such factor is the number of "synapses" between neurons.
Simply put, a "synapse" is the connection point between neurons, allowing signals to pass from one neuron to another. Importantly, each neuron does not extend just one synapse. Unlike the typical round cell shape we imagine, neurons have a rounded part but are characterized by outward extensions called "axons" and "dendrites," resembling tentacles. These extensions form countless synapses with other neurons, creating a complex three-dimensional network. All our sensations, thoughts, memories, and movements are achieved through rapid signal transmission within this intricate network.
So, how does the number of synapses relate to human intellectual development and wisdom? As mentioned earlier, a single neuron can form countless synapses. We know that two points can either be connected or not—so how many possible combinations exist among five points with some connected and some not? What about ten points? A hundred? Ten thousand? Or, as estimated, hundreds of billions of neurons? Even if each neuron connects to just ten others, the complexity of the resulting network is already beyond imagination—let alone when the connections far exceed ten (estimated at 5,000 to 50,000).
This vast network, composed of countless neurons and even more synapses, is the foundation of our intelligence and wisdom. Without sufficient synapses, an individual’s behavioral patterns would be extremely simplistic. Although a six-year-old child may have the highest number of neurons, the synapses extending from each neuron are far fewer than in an adult, which is why their intelligence naturally lags behind.
However, through external stimuli and learning, axons and dendrites extend extensively, and synapses multiply. Thus, everything we experience and learn exists as a complex network within the ocean of our neural connections, allowing us to grow increasingly smarter and wiser over time.
Source: http://blog. xuite. net/ psydanny/ murmur/ 18234067
Neurons and Synapses: the Complex Network Called Intelligence
So why do we still feel that a person's intelligence and wisdom improve with age? Why do we always assume that older people possess wisdom that younger individuals lack? And it’s not just that—psychological research has indeed found that human intelligence continues to grow until around the age of 20, then enters a stable plateau period, only gradually declining after 40. Even as intelligence declines, experience and knowledge continue to accumulate.
In other words, what governs our intelligence is not just the number of brain cells—there are other crucial factors at play. One such factor is the number of "synapses" between neurons.
Simply put, a "synapse" is the connection point between neurons, allowing signals to pass from one neuron to another. Importantly, each neuron does not extend just one synapse. Unlike the typical round cell shape we imagine, neurons have a rounded part but are characterized by outward extensions called "axons" and "dendrites," resembling tentacles. These extensions form countless synapses with other neurons, creating a complex three-dimensional network. All our sensations, thoughts, memories, and movements are achieved through rapid signal transmission within this intricate network.
So, how does the number of synapses relate to human intellectual development and wisdom? As mentioned earlier, a single neuron can form countless synapses. We know that two points can either be connected or not—so how many possible combinations exist among five points with some connected and some not? What about ten points? A hundred? Ten thousand? Or, as estimated, hundreds of billions of neurons? Even if each neuron connects to just ten others, the complexity of the resulting network is already beyond imagination—let alone when the connections far exceed ten (estimated at 5,000 to 50,000).
This vast network, composed of countless neurons and even more synapses, is the foundation of our intelligence and wisdom. Without sufficient synapses, an individual’s behavioral patterns would be extremely simplistic. Although a six-year-old child may have the highest number of neurons, the synapses extending from each neuron are far fewer than in an adult, which is why their intelligence naturally lags behind.
However, through external stimuli and learning, axons and dendrites extend extensively, and synapses multiply. Thus, everything we experience and learn exists as a complex network within the ocean of our neural connections, allowing us to grow increasingly smarter and wiser over time.
Source: http://blog. xuite. net/ psydanny/ murmur/ 18234067