Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-hzqq2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-04-17T01:15:58.263Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - Development

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2025

Stacey A. Bedwell
Affiliation:
King’s College London
Get access

Summary

The human brain follows a clear and reliable timeline of development. Various stages of development are key to specific functions. Decision-making, due to its complexity, cannot be pinpointed to one age in development or a critical period, it undergoes several key stages through the lifespan. In the prenatal stage, myelination is important for cognitively demanding tasks like decision-making. In the newborn stage, the baby is constantly forming new synapses, increasing connectivity. During childhood most children develop the ability to use logic in decisions. Adolescence is a critical period for synaptic pruning, improving efficiency. The prefrontal cortex is considered fully mature in adulthood, around the age of 25.

Information

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Abitz, A., Nielsen, R. D., Jones, E. G., Laursen, H., Graem, N., & Pakkenberg, N. (2007). Excess of neurons in the human newborn mediodorsal thalamus compared with that of the adult. Cerebral Cortex, 17(11), 25732578. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhl163CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ackerman, S. (1992). Discovering the brain. National Academies Press (US).Google ScholarPubMed
Albert, D., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2013). Peer influences on adolescent decision making. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(2), 114120. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412471347CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arain, M., Haque, M., Johal, L., Mathur, P., Nel, W., Rais, A., Sandhu, R., & Sharma, S. (2013). Maturation of the adolescent brain. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 9, 449461. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S39776Google ScholarPubMed
Arnall, J. (2019, 18 February). When do children understand consequences? https://judyarnall.com/2019/02/18/when-do-children-understand-consequencesGoogle Scholar
Barker, D., & Osmond, C. (1986). Infant mortality, childhood nutrition, and ischaemic heart disease in England and Wales. Lancet, 327(8489), 10771081. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(86)91340-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Best, J. R., & Miller, P. H. (2010). A developmental perspective on executive function. Child Development, 81(6), 16411660. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01499.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blair, R., Colledge, E., & Mitchell, D. (2001). Somatic markers and response reversal: Is there orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction in boys with psychopathic tendencies? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(6), 499511. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1012277125119CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., & Hare, T. A. (2008). The adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124(1), 111126. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1440.010CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crews, F., He, J., & Hodge, C. (2007). Adolescent cortical development: A critical period of vulnerability for addiction. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, 86(2), 189199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2006.12.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eshel, N., Nelson, E. E., Blair, R. J., Pine, D. S., & Ernst, M. (2007). Neural substrates of choice selection in adults and adolescents: Development of the ventrolateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices. Neuropsychologia, 45(6), 12701279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.10.004CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gaillard, F., Zhang, B., Ibrahim, D., et al. (n.d.). Normal myelination [reference article]. Radiopaedia.org. https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-5776CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkham, N. Z., Cruess, L., & Diamond, A. (2003). Helping children apply their knowledge to their behaviour on a dimension-switching task. Developmental Science, 6(5), 449467. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00300CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knickmeyer, R. C., Gouttard, S., Kang, C., Evans, D., Wilber, K., Smith, J. K., Hamer, R. M., Lin, W., Gerig, G., & Gilmore, J. H. (2008). A structural MRI study of human brain development from birth to 2 years. Journal of Neuroscience, 28(47), 1217612182. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3479-08.2008CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohlberg, L. (1981). Essays on moral development: The philosophy of moral development. Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Löckenhoff, C. E., & Carstensen, L. L. (2007). Aging, emotion, and health-related decision strategies: Motivational manipulations can reduce age differences. Psychology and Aging, 22(1), 134146. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.22.1.134CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luciana, M., & Nelson, C. A. (1998). The functional emergence of prefrontally-guided working memory systems in four- to eight-year-old children. Neuropsychologia, 36(3), 273293. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0028-3932(97)00109-7CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mather, M. (2012). The emotion paradox in the aging brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1251(1), 3349. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06471.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. (1989). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244(4907), 933938. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.2658056CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, D. C., & Reuter-Lorenz, P. (2009). The adaptive brain: Aging and neurocognitive scaffolding. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 173196. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093656CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piaget, J. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children. International Universities Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Randhawa, S. S., & Varghese, D. (2023). Geriatric evaluation and treatment of age-related cognitive decline. StatPearls. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK580536Google ScholarPubMed
Silva, K., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2016). Adolescents in peer groups make more prudent decisions when a slightly older adult is present. Psychological Science, 27(3), 322330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615620379CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xiao, L., Bechara, A., Palmer, P. H., Trinidad, D. R., Wei, Y., Jia, Y., & Johnson, C. A. (2011). Parent-child engagement in decision making and the development of adolescent affective decision capacity and binge drinking. Personality and Individual Differences, 51(3), 285292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.04.023CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zelazo, P. D., Frye, D., & Rapus, T. (1996). An age-related dissociation between knowing rules and using them. Cognitive Development, 11(1), 3763. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2014(96)90027-1CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Development
  • Stacey A. Bedwell, King’s College London
  • Book: Cognitive Neuroscience of Decision-Making
  • Online publication: 14 November 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009407946.010
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Development
  • Stacey A. Bedwell, King’s College London
  • Book: Cognitive Neuroscience of Decision-Making
  • Online publication: 14 November 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009407946.010
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Development
  • Stacey A. Bedwell, King’s College London
  • Book: Cognitive Neuroscience of Decision-Making
  • Online publication: 14 November 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009407946.010
Available formats
×