Do more intelligent brains retain heightened plasticity for longer in development? A computational investigation

Twin studies indicate that the heritability of general cognitive ability – the genetic contribution to individual differences – increases with age. Brant et al. (2013) reported that this increase in heritability occurs earlier in development for low ability children than high ability children. Allied with structural brain imaging results that indicate faster thickening and thinning of cortex for high ability children (Shaw et al., 2006), Brant...