The role of sensory experience in the maturation of prefrontal cortical circuits

Sensory input during early life is crucial for brain circuitry to be appropriately wired and refined. Foundational studies in the past century established that early sensory input was required for the appropriate development of primary sensory areas. Further investigation in the beginning of the 21st century extended this idea by suggesting that early sensory inputs may also impact remodeling of associative cortical regions. While many of the early studies promoting this idea were based on correlational observations, more causal studies followed soon after. It quickly became clear that sensory experience is a driver for shaping associative regions, including those that do not necessarily receive direct sensory input, such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The PFC is a region critical for sensory integration as well as for goal-directed, flexible behavior across species. Importantly, the PFC is a late developing structure, where the integration of diverse types of information, such as sensory information, during early life can elicit alterations in the underlying developing neural circuitry. These sensory inputs can interact with genetically-encoded biological programs to shape the maturation of PFC circuitry. In this review, we will highlight the studies supporting this model and delve further into how sensory experience during early life can impact different biological mechanisms to shape developing PFC circuitry.