The transition from adolescence to adulthood is characterized by improvements in higher-order cognitive abilities and corresponding refinements of the structure and function of the brain regions that support them. Whereas the neurobiological mechanisms that govern early development of sensory systems are well-understood, the mechanisms that drive developmental plasticity of association cortices, such as prefrontal cortex (PFC), during adolescence remain to be explained. In this review, we synthesize neurodevelopmental findings at the cellular, circuit, and systems levels in PFC and evaluate them through the lens of established critical period (CP) mechanisms that guide early sensory development. We find remarkable correspondence between these neurodevelopmental processes and the mechanisms driving CP plasticity, supporting the hypothesis that adolescent development is driven by CP mechanisms that guide the rapid development of neurobiology and cognitive ability during adolescence and their subsequent stability in adulthood. Critically, understanding adolescence as a CP not only provides a mechanism for normative adolescent development, it provides a framework for understanding the role of experience and neurobiology in the emergence of psychopathology that occurs during this developmental period.

从青春期到成年的过渡的特点是高阶认知能力的提高以及支持这些能力的大脑区域的结构和功能的相应完善。尽管控制感觉系统早期发育的神经生物学机制已被充分理解，但青春期期间驱动联合皮层（例如前额叶皮层（PFC））发育可塑性的机制仍有待解释。在这篇综述中，我们综合了 PFC 中细胞、回路和系统水平的神经发育发现，并通过指导早期感觉发育的既定关键期 (CP) 机制的视角对其进行评估。我们发现这些神经发育过程和驱动 CP 可塑性的机制之间存在显着的对应关系，支持这样的假设：青少年发育是由 CP 机制驱动的，CP 机制指导青春期神经生物学和认知能力的快速发展及其随后在成年期的稳定性。至关重要的是，将青春期理解为 CP 不仅为青少年的规范发展提供了一种机制，还为理解经验和神经生物学在这一发展时期出现的精神病理学的出现中的作用提供了一个框架。