Adolescence and the Development of the Frontal Cortices
Linda Wilbrecht, PhD
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
University of California, Berkeley
Adolescence is a formative period in development, and there is a growing endorsement of an “adolescent-sensitive period.” What does this mean? While we know experience in adolescence can have a lasting impact on behavioral or brain function in adulthood, why is this so? In my talk, I will share what we have learned by examining learning, spine pruning, puberty, maturation of inhibition and functional activity in the mouse adolescent frontal cortices. I then hope to discuss the idea that an adolescent-sensitive period may exist in rodents for learning and decision-making (and frontal-basal ganglia circuit function) to support adaptive foraging behavior.