You can objectively determine your brain age based on the reliable measurement, a brain scan. Older-looking brains are normally smaller, with bigger ventricles and thinner cortex (the outer layer of neural tissue of the cerebrum). They indicate an accelerated brain aging.
However, brain scans are taken at one point in time, and can’t really give you an information whether an older-looking brain is a result of an accelerated brain aging or of brain differences throughout someone’s life. At least, according to a recent study.
The researchers scanned the brains of 1.500 adult people (aged 20 – 90 years old) over a long period of time (up to 10 years). Comparing this with data on the birth weight and genetics of the participants, they came to conclusion that older-looking brains had a link to a lower birth weight and a genetic disposition. In other words, older-looking brains can reflect normal differences that were already present early in life and that remained constant throughout the lifespan.
Curious? HERE is the source