Critical periods of brain development are epochs of heightened plasticity driven by environmental influence necessary for normal brain function. Recent studies are beginning to shed light on the possibility that timely interventions during critical periods hold potential to reorient abnormal developmental trajectories in animal models of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. In this review, we re-examine the criteria defining critical periods, highlighting the recently discovered mechanisms of developmental plasticity in health and disease. In addition, we touch upon technological improvements for modeling critical periods in human-derived neural networks in vitro. These scientific advances associated with the use of developmental manipulations in the immature brain of animal models are the basic preclinical systems that will allow the future translatability of timely interventions into clinical applications for neurodevelopmental disorders such as intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and schizophrenia.

大脑发育的关键时期是可塑性增强的时代，其受到正常大脑功能所必需的环境影响的驱动。最近的研究开始揭示在关键时期及时采取干预措施有可能重新定向神经和神经精神疾病动物模型中异常发育轨迹的可能性。在这篇综述中，我们重新检查了定义关键时期的标准，强调了最近发现的健康和疾病发展可塑性的机制。此外，我们还对技术进行了改进，以对人源神经网络的关键时期建模体外。这些与在动物模型的未成熟大脑中使用发育操纵相关的科学进展是基本的临床前系统，它将使及时干预的未来可移植性转化为神经发育障碍（如智障，自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）和精神分裂症）的临床应用。