Certain kinds of mental skills hit their peak at age 22 and then begin to decline at age 27, according to U.S. researchers who followed 2,000 healthy people, ages 18 to 60, for an average of seven years.
The study found that age 22 is when the brain reaches the high point in terms of speed of thoughts, ability to reason and visual problem-solving ability, CBC News reported. Test scores in these areas begin to decline at age 27.
University of Virginia psychology professor Timothy Salthouse and colleagues concluded that some "aspects of age-related cognitive decline begin in healthy educated adults when they are in their 20s and 30s."
But the researchers also found that vocabulary skills and general knowledge improved until age 60, CBC News reported.
The study was published in the April issue of the journal Neurobiology of Aging.