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Cited by 564Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms

Experience and the developing prefrontal cortex

Open access
Kolb, Bryan, Mychasiuk, Richelle, Muhammad, Arif, Li, Yilin, Frost, Douglas O., Gibb, Robbin·2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1121251109PMC PMC3477383
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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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Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.1121251109

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  • Mindfulness approaches may be particularly developmentally appropriate compared to CBT because they facilitate emotion regulation and executive function during a period when these skills are developing and sensitive to experience-dependent learning.

    “Relative to other treatment modalities like CBT, mindfulness approaches may be particularly developmentally appropriate, as they facilitate and guide opportunities for emotion regulation and executive function (e.g., direction and maintenance of attentional focus) during a period when these skills are developing and therefore sensitive to experience-dependent learning (Kolb et al. 2012).”

    From Mindfulness Interventions to Reduce Impact of Interparental Conflict on Adolescents. (2020) · cites this paper as Kolb et al. 2012

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • The area in the human brain responsible for reason and decision-making is not fully developed until age 25.

    “Given the well established fact that the area in the human brain responsible for reason and decisionmaking is not fully developed until the age of 25 (Kolb et al., 2012)”

    From Transfer of Minors to Adult Court in California: Investigating the Legal/Demographic Factors that Make the Difference (2025) · cites this paper as Kolb et al., 2012

    The opening passage describes the prefrontal cortex as involved in planning and directing cognitive behavior, and “Development of the PFC” says its synaptic pruning continues well into the third decade of life. Those passages support prolonged development of a region relevant to decision-making, but they do not establish age 25 as the point when it becomes fully developed; the section says cerebral maturation is not complete until the fourth decade. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • How experience-dependent plasticity contributes to the development of other brain structures such as the PFC remains largely unknown.

    “However, how experience-dependent plasticity contributes to the development of other brain structures, such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC), remains largely unknown (Kolb et al., 2012;Larsen and Luna, 2018;Reh et al., 2020).”

    From Social Play Behavior Is Critical for the Development of Prefrontal Inhibitory Synapses and Cognitive Flexibility in Rats (2022) · cites this paper as Kolb et al., 2012

    The Sensory and Motor Experience section says it is not yet known whether common factors or multiple mechanisms drive experience-related synaptic changes in the PFC. That supports uncertainty about how the changes occur. But the Factors Influencing Prefrontal Development section reviews established effects of experience on PFC development, so the broader claim that its contribution remains largely unknown overstates the source. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • During the period when the PFC matures (between weaning and early adulthood), young animals display an abundance of social play behavior.

    “Importantly, during the period when the PFC matures, i.e., in between weaning and early adulthood (Kolb et al., 2012), young animals display an abundance of an energetic form of social behavior known as social play behavior (Panksepp et al., 1984;Vanderschuren et al., 1997;Pellis and Pellis, 2009).”

    From Social Play Behavior Is Critical for the Development of Prefrontal Inhibitory Synapses and Cognitive Flexibility in Rats (2022) · cites this paper as Kolb et al., 2012

  • The PFC continues to develop significantly during postnatal life and retains a certain degree of plasticity lifelong.

    “To sustain this dynamic experience-dependent neuroplasticity, the PFC, unlike any other brain region, continues to develop significantly during postnatal life, and retains a certain degree of plasticity lifelong3.”

    From Cell type-specific transcriptional programs in mouse prefrontal cortex during adolescence and addiction (2019) · cites this paper as [3]

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [17]17. Greenough WT, Withers GS, Wallace CS (1990) Morphological changes in the nervous system arising from behavioral experience: What is the evidence that they are in- volved in learning and memory? The Biology of Memory, Symposia Medica Hoechst, eds Squire LR, Lindenlaub E (Springer, New York), Vol 23, pp 159-185.
  2. [23]23. Blumberg MS, Freeman JH, Robinson SR (Oxford Univ Press, Oxford), pp 323-341.
  3. [65]65. Milstein JA, et al. (2010) Long-term neurodevelopmental sequelae of adolescent olanzapine exposure: Behavioral effects. Soc Neurosci Abst 168(36):12.
  4. [83]83. Juraska J (1990) The structure of the cerebral cortex: Effects of gender and the en- vironment. The Cerebral Cortex of the Rat, eds Kolb B, Tees R (MIT Press, Cambridge, MA), pp 483-506.

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Authors
Kolb, B., Mychasiuk, R., Muhammad, A., Li, Y., Frost, D. O., & Gibb, R.
Affiliations
  • University of Lethbridge (CA)
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
ORCID
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Published
2012-10-08
Volume
109
Issue
supplement_2
Pages
17186-17193
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1121251109
PMC
PMC3477383
OpenAlex
W2120295167
Cited by
564
References
94
Citations by year
2026: 29 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 76 · 2019: 42 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 43 · 2015: 39 · 2014: 30 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 2
FWCI
2.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
Keywords
prefrontal cortex, prefrontal cortex development, early life experience, environmental influences on brain development, sensory stimuli, stress, drug exposure, hormones, social experience, parental interaction, peer interaction, neuropsychiatric disorders
MeSH terms
Animals, Child, Biological Evolution, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Male, Neuronal Plasticity, Parent-Child Relations, Pregnancy, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Psychotropic Drugs, Stress, Physiological, Prefrontal Cortex

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