Brain’s risk-taking function not developed until 25

Neuroscience, development play roles

Now this is an interesting article:

A National Institutes of Health study suggests that the region of the brain that inhibits risky behavior is not fully formed until age 25, a finding with implications for a host of policies, including the nation’s driving laws.

‘We’d thought the highest levels of physical and brain maturity were reached by age 18, maybe earlier — so this threw us,’ said Jay Giedd, a pediatric psychiatrist leading the study, which released its first results in April. That makes adolescence ‘a dangerous time, when it should be the best.’

Of course, there’s a criticism the study only impies a correlation and not an exact relationship. But the correlation exists nonetheless, confirming what car insurance firms have known for years. In case you were wondering, this is why car insurance premiums tend to be lowered once a driver has reached 25. Drivers between the ages of 16-25 can expect to pay more than those over 25, although a person of any age can make sure they get the cheapest deal possible by visiting Insurance Quotes. They provide great tips to get lower rates or better coverage, which is ultimately what we are all after.