The universal model of growth: Dependence of brain and body mass on age

Abstract The universal growth model (DS model), previously substantiated in Sci Nat (2015) 102:29, is shown to describe the age-dependence of brain and body mass obtained from available human autopsy data. Two growth stages are revealed: from conception to 1.5 years, and from 1.5 years to death (postconceptual age is used here). It is found that the DS-model, despite the presence of only two parameters, describes well the complex allometric dependence of the brain mass on the body mass. An important feature of the DS-model-based time metric is emphasized in comparison with the traditional (astronomical) time metric in the analysis of age-related changes in body mass for men and women.