William Atkins
Tuesday, 17 March 2009 22:40
Science -
Biology
Page 1 of 3
According to new U.S. research, humans reach their peak of mental abilities at the age of 22 years, and begin to age with respect to their brain’s ability to think and reason in their twenties. The research is not without its critics, but it does make a person think--or, at least, try to think on a subpar level if you're over 27 years of age.
Specifically, the research performed at the University of Virginia states that the mental abilities of humans peak at the age of 22 years and then begins to decrease at the age of 27 years.
American psychologist
Timothy A. Salthouse, from the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (United States), is the author of this study
Dr. Salthouse, the director of the Salthouse Cognitive Aging Laboratory at the University of Virginia, studied 2,000 male and female adults between the ages of 18 to 60 years over a seven-year period.
The health of these people was considered good and the their educational background was considered well above average.
During the seven years of study, the participants were asked to perform twelve tests that are often asked of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Such tests involve solving visual puzzles, identifying patterns in symbols and letters, and remembering words and details of stories.
Salthouse found that in nine of the twelve tests, the average age of peak performance was at 22 years.
Page two continues with more results from Dr. Salthouse.
