title: Experience and the developing prefrontal cortex.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada. kolb@uleth.ca
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kolb
authors.forename: Richelle
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mychasiuk
authors.forename: Arif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Muhammad
authors.forename: Yilin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Douglas O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Frost
authors.forename: Robbin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gibb
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000494:pharmacology; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs