The Adolescent Development Research Group of MTA-PPKE, which is part of ELKH, is led by academician Ilona Kovács and focuses on the unexplored area of adolescent development, the relationship between biological age and cognitive abilities. In a recent study published in the prestigious journal Nature Scientific Reports, the team showed that adolescents' cognitive ability levels are not only related to their age, but also to their biological age, which can be determined by ultrasound bone scans. The results may, among other things, help to understand and treat psychiatric disorders in adolescence.
In addition to the passage of time, adolescent development is also clearly dependent on the onset of puberty, with a high degree of individual variation. This can mean that in the first year of a secondary school we come across students of many different heights, behaviors, social and emotional attitudes and levels of cognitive ability. Although the onset of puberty determines both brain and behavioral developmental trajectories, research in this area has so far been less controlled for this variable.
The methods previously used to determine biological maturity are outdated, and the dissociation of chronological age and biological age has not yet been effectively addressed. The developmental level of an adolescent is determined by a visual assessment of secondary sex characteristics, which is not only highly subjective and inaccurate, but can also be uncomfortable for the person being tested. With modern technology, however, there are several ways to determine biological age, of which the research team has now chosen ultrasonic bone age assessment.
Bone age provides information on the developmental status of the skeletal system, which is determined by the presence of bone-forming centers, the shape of the bones and the degree of ossification of the mid- and end-joints of the forearm bones. Bone age maturity is assessed using an ultrasound-based instrument that has no harmful effects on the body. The method can be used to determine, among other things, the expected height of adolescents with a high degree of accuracy.
Among the adolescents who underwent bone age assessment, the researchers selected adolescents with the same chronological age but different bone ages, and vice versa, with the same bone age but different chronological ages. This created a dissociation (separation) between maturation (bone age) and experience (chronological age) that allowed researchers to study their effects separately.
Measuring participants' cognitive performance with a complex intelligence test, they found that biological age has a highly significant effect on both IQ in general and on some specific cognitive abilities. The results show that within the same age group, more mature participants have higher working memory and processing speed, while older participants of the same biological age have better verbal skills.
The team's results clearly indicate that bone age can be a promising marker of adolescent development for future research in this area. This is the first project, both nationally and internationally, that clearly separates the biological and experiential elements of human adolescent development, thus providing more precise answers to questions about adolescent development.
This method can be used to reliably identify sensitive periods for different skills at the individual level, which also helps determine the most appropriate time interval for acquiring proficiency in a particular skill. This can be useful for developing individualized curricula, but also for selecting talented young people in science, music and sport.
Another very important factor concerns the vulnerability of the brain during adolescence, as many psychiatric disorders are linked to the transition from childhood to adulthood. By being able to better define this sensitive period, researchers can also contribute to the understanding, prevention and treatment of diseases.
Ferenc Gombos, a sleep expert, and Katinka Utczás, an anthropologist at the University of Physical Education, also play important roles in the project. More information on the work of the research team can be found in Hungarian on the BÉTA lab website and in English here.