Smart Kids' Brains May Mature Later - AP

NEW YORK - Very smart children may seem advanced in many ways, but a new study shows they actually lag behind other kids in development of the "thinking" part of the brain.

The brain's outer mantle, or cortex, gets thicker and then thins during childhood and the teen years. The study found that in kids with superior intelligence, the cortex reaches its thickest stage a few years later than in other children.

Nobody knows what causes that or how it relates to superior intelligence. But researchers said the finding does not rule out a role for environment — such as intellectual stimulation — in affecting a child's level of intelligence.

In fact, the delay may promote higher intelligence because it means a child is older, and processing more complex experiences, while the cortex is building up, said study co-author Dr. Judith Rapoport.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060329/ap_on_sc/smart_brains

Also note: The cerebral cortex, made up of four lobes, is involved in many complex brain functions including memory, attention, perceptual awareness, "thinking", language and consciousness.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_cortex

Many eminent individuals throughout history have shown evidence of a learning disability in conjunction with giftedness. Albert Einstein was four years old before he was able to talk and seven before he could read. Thomas Edison was told by his teachers that he was stupid and Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade (Wright, 1997).

http://www.twicegifted.net/ld.htm