title: Critical periods during sensory development.
abstract: Recent studies have made progress in characterizing the determinants of critical periods for experience-dependent plasticity. They highlight the role of neurotrophins, NMDA receptors and GABAergic inhibition. In particular, genetic manipulation of a single molecule, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), has been shown to alter the timing of the critical period of plasticity in mouse visual cortex, establishing a causal relation between neurotrophin action, the development of visual function, and the duration of the critical period.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Neurofisiologia CNR, Pisa, 51 56125, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Berardi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pizzorusso
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maffei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate