"There are lots of reasons why relationships fall apart; all kinds of incompatibilities can doom romance. Some are trivial, but occasionally there might be something more profound at the root of an estrangement. Recently, the concept of the "frontal lobe breakup" appeared in popular culture. The idea is that the final stage of development in the executive regions of the brain-the frontal lobes-changes someone's perspective about their relationship. The onset of advanced cognitive skills in one partner creates a gap in maturity too big to bridge."
"It's certainly true that the prefrontal cortex, the "executive" region of the brain, is not fully developed until the late 20s. There is a final period of remodelling in both grey and white matter, when a combination of synaptic pruning, stabilization, and increased myelination refines the circuits of the prefrontal cortex so that they operate with greater efficiency, connectivity, and speed (Kolk & Rakic, 2022)."
Prefrontal cortex maturation continues through the 20s and typically finishes by the late 20s to early 30s. Final remodelling includes synaptic pruning, stabilization, and increased myelination that refine grey and white matter for greater efficiency, connectivity, and speed. Frontal lobe development improves executive capacities and emotional regulation, which can change how individuals evaluate relationships and priorities. Popular culture labels this phenomenon the "frontal lobe breakup," suggesting increasing mental clarity can create maturity gaps between partners. Neural circuits remain responsive to experience, and separating structural from functional causes of behaviour is difficult.
Read at Psychology Today
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