Question: A recent meta-analysis of brain imaging conducted on over 100,000 people from the prenatal period to old age revealed that _____________. the surface area of the brain expands rapidly in early childhood and then retracts during the rest of the lifespan due to pruning of synapses the cortex reaches maximum thickness in adolescence, and thins gradually after that the cortex reaches maximum thickness by 1.7 years and thins gradually after that due to pruning of synapses and compression of grey matter by expanding white matter white matter volume expands rapidly in early childhood and reaches a peak before puberty, and then declines throughout the rest of the lifespan. Need Assignment Help?