• Question: how many brain cells does a adult humans have compared to child humans

    Asked by callumraeburn to Aled, Ellie, Fiona, Kev, Willem on 12 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Eleanor Parker

      Eleanor Parker answered on 12 Mar 2014:

      Hi callumraeburn,
      Scientists think there are about 100 billion brain cells called neurons in the human brain. The number of neurons doesn’t actually change very much at all from when we are born until when we die. But, how the neurons are connected to each other changes A LOT as we grow and even when we are adults. These connections change as we learn new things and have different experiences. Think of it as a road map with different towns connected by lots of roads. The roads that we never use disappear but the roads we use all the time will get bigger.

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