Mechanisms contributing to prefrontal cortex maturation during adolescence

•Adolescence occurs in mammals as a period for acquisition of prefrontal maturity .•Dramatic functional changes occur in the prefrontal cortex during adolescence.•Prefrontal maturation is required to support complex behavioral outcomes.•Preventing such maturation leads to an inadequate control of prefrontal output.

Adolescence is defined as a transitional period between childhood and adulthood characterized by changes in social interaction and acquisition of mature cognitive abilities. These changes have been associated with the maturation of brain regions involved in the control of motivation, emotion, and cognition. Among these regions, the protracted development of the human prefrontal cortex during adolescence has been proposed to underlie the maturation of cognitive functions and the regulation of affective responses. Studies in animal models allow us to test the causal contribution of specific neural processes in the development of the prefrontal cortex and the acquisition of adult behavior. This review summarizes the cellular and synaptic mechanisms occurring in the rodent prefrontal cortex during adolescence as a model for understanding the changes underlying human prefrontal development.