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This article discusses recent scientific advances in the study of individual differences in human brain development. Focusing on structural neuroimaging measures of brain morphology and tissue properties, two kinds of variability are related and explored: differences across individuals of the same age and differences across age as a result of development. A recent multidimensional modeling study is explained, which was able to use brain measures to predict an individual's chronological age within about one year on average, in children, adolescents, and young adults between 3 and 20 years old. These findings reveal great regularity in the sequence of the aggregate brain state across different ages and phases of development, despite the pronounced individual differences people show on any single brain measure at any given age. Future research is suggested, incorporating additional measures of brain activity and function. WIREs Cogn Sci 2017, 8:e1389. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1389 For further resources related to this article, please visit the . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors comment on a study by Durston and colleagues in this issue, which sets out to test a purported developmental shift from "diffuse" to "focal" brain activity during performance of a response inhibition task. The study aims to compare age-effects measured between two groups with those detected using two measures of the same group at different ages. The authors discuss the potential benefits of longitudinal versus cross-sectional studies in developmental functional neuroimaging from the perspective afforded by their own work on cognitive development using functional magnetic resonance imaging.