Neuroscientists are confirming what car rental places already figured out — the brain doesn't fully mature until age 25.
Up until this age, the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain that helps curb impulsive behavior — is not yet fully developed.
Some scientists say this could illuminate a potential factor behind a recent spate of acts of mass violence, almost all of which have been perpetrated by men between the ages of 20 and 30.
"The preponderance of young men engaging in these deadly, evil, and stupid acts of violence may be a result of brains that have yet to fully developed," Howard Forman, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, told my colleague Chris Weller.
Here are the milestones for brain maturity throughout life.
However, there's a difference between being mature and being at your peak. Your brain continues to gain new abilities throughout your life. Here's when you're best at a variety of skills: