Mapping interactions between adversity and neuroplasticity across development

The human brain undergoes a protracted course of development that provides prolonged opportunities to be sculpted by experience. Yet, persistent definitional and measurement challenges have complicated efforts to understand how experience interacts with neuroplasticity during human development. Here, we synthesize previously siloed perspectives to propose an integrative framework defining key dimensions along which adversity interacts with neuroplasticity. We discuss how the state of neuroplasticity during the timing of exposure may modulate how adversity shapes brain development. We also outline how adversity may accelerate or delay the timing of neuroplasticity and amplify or dampen its magnitude. Identifying how, where, and when experience calibrates the brain's capacity for change may inform how neuroplasticity dynamics can be harnessed to promote healthy development.