Formative Influences on the Youngest Minds

A neuroscientist from Harvard studies how to restore the malleability of a child’s brain later in life

By Gary Stix on February 1, 2016

The brain of a child develops vision and other capacities during what is called a “critical period,” a time when the brain is primed to undergo lasting change once exposed to sensory and social stimuli. These intervals allow for the molding and shaping of neural connections. A growing understanding of the dynamics of the critical period is allowing scientists to contemplate drugs and behavioral measures to reinstate critical periods later in life to correct early developmental problems. Watch Harvard neuroscientist Takao Hensch—author of an article on critical periods in the February issue of Scientific American—as he discusses the shaping of neural circuits by early experience.

Gary Stix

Gary Stix, a senior editor, commissions, writes, and edits features, news articles and Web blogs for SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. His area of coverage is neuroscience. He also has frequently been the issue or section editor for special issues or reports on topics ranging from nanotechnology to obesity. He has worked for more than 20 years at SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, following three years as a science journalist at IEEE Spectrum, the flagship publication for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. He has an undergraduate degree in journalism from New York University. With his wife, Miriam Lacob, he wrote a general primer on technology called Who Gives a Gigabyte?