During a brief postnatal critical period, excitatory connections in visual cortex can be easily
modified by alterations of visual experience. Recent studies conducted in rodents, and
particularly in genetically altered mice, have implicated the maturation of cortical GABAergic
inhibition in the timing of the critical period. In this paper we (1) review the postnatal changes
in GABAergic transmission that can have consequences for visual cortex plasticity and (2)
discuss possible mechanisms by which GABAergic circuits could regulate the onset and …