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Review
. 2012 Oct 16;109 Suppl 2(Suppl 2):17186-93.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1121251109. Epub 2012 Oct 8.

Experience and the developing prefrontal cortex

Bryan Kolb  1 , Richelle Mychasiuk, Arif Muhammad, Yilin Li, Douglas O Frost, Robbin Gibb
Affiliations
Review

Experience and the developing prefrontal cortex

Bryan Kolb et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) receives input from all other cortical regions and functions to plan and direct motor, cognitive, affective, and social behavior across time. It has a prolonged development, which allows the acquisition of complex cognitive abilities through experience but makes it susceptible to factors that can lead to abnormal functioning, which is often manifested in neuropsychiatric disorders. When the PFC is exposed to different environmental events during development, such as sensory stimuli, stress, drugs, hormones, and social experiences (including both parental and peer interactions), the developing PFC may develop in different ways. The goal of the current review is to illustrate how the circuitry of the developing PFC can be sculpted by a wide range of pre- and postnatal factors. We begin with an overview of prefrontal functioning and development, and we conclude with a consideration of how early experiences influence prefrontal development and behavior.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Time line of brain development in humans and rodents. B, birth.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Venn diagrams summarizing the changes in gene expression in the offspring of rats exposed to prenatal stress (45).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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