Question: How big is a child brain and how big are neorons

Malgorzata Dabrowska answered on 20 Nov 2020:

Hi!
Brain size of a newborn baby is going to expand more than 50% during the first 3 months of its life. And it’s going to reach something above 500cm^3. Later on, the development is not that rapid any more, although it is still ongoing for a few more months. After this period the number of neurons is being reduced to make it more “tidy” in our head. Neurons are always the same size, no matter the age, only their shape is changing and the amount of connections. Also, with ageing from the newborn to toddler period and so on, more and more neurons are getting the surrounding coat= myelin. This coat is helping to pass the signal faster and more efficient. That’s why we can develop so well. The size of the neuron depends on its role in the organism. It starts from a few micrometers (neurons for example in our brains) till even centimetres or meter (our leg, especially if someone is very tall).