Prefrontal Cortex Loses Neurons During Adolescence, University of Illinois Researchers Find

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Researchers at the University of Illinois have found that adolescence is a time of remodeling in the prefrontal cortex, a brain structure dedicated to higher functions such as planning and social behaviors. The study of rats found that both males and females lose neurons in the ventral prefrontal cortex between adolescence and adulthood, with females losing about 13 percent more neurons in this brain region than males.

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