Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2013 Nov;37(9 Pt B):2233-42. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.03.003. Epub 2013 Mar 18.
Plasticity refers to changes in the brain that enable an organism to adapt its behavior in the face of changing environmental demands. The evolutionary role of plasticity is to provide the cognitive flexibility to learn from experiences, to monitor the world based on learned predictions, and adjust actions when these predictions are violated. Both progressive (myelination) and regressive (synaptic pruning) brain changes support this type of adaptation. Experience-driven changes in neural connections underlie the ability to learn and update thoughts and behaviors throughout life. Many cognitive and behavioral indices exhibit nonlinear life-span trajectories, suggesting the existence of specific sensitive developmental periods of heightened plasticity. We propose that age-related differences in learning capabilities and behavioral performance reflect the distinct maturational timetable of subcortical learning systems and modulatory prefrontal regions. We focus specifically on the developmental transition of adolescence, during which individuals experience difficulty flexibly adjusting their behavior when confronted with unexpected and emotionally salient events. In this article, we review the findings illustrating this phenomenon and how they vary by individual.
可塑性是指大脑的变化，使生物体能够在面对不断变化的环境需求时调整其行为。可塑性的进化作用是提供认知灵活性，以便从经验中学习，根据所学的预测来监测世界，并在这些预测受到违反时调整行为。渐进的（髓鞘形成）和退行的（突触修剪）大脑变化都支持这种适应。神经连接的经验驱动变化为终生学习和更新思想和行为的能力奠定了基础。许多认知和行为指标表现出非线性的寿命轨迹，这表明存在特定的敏感发育时期，可塑性增强。我们提出，学习能力和行为表现的年龄差异反映了皮质下学习系统和调节前额叶区域的不同成熟时间表。我们特别关注青春期的发展过渡，在此期间，当面临意外和情感上突出的事件时，个体在灵活调整行为方面会遇到困难。在本文中，我们回顾了说明这种现象的研究结果，以及它们如何因个体而异。
