Three factors to characterize plastic potential transitions in the visual system

•Visual deprivation models allow the investigation of neural plasticity in the visual system.•Developmental and adult plasticity differ quantitatively and qualitatively.•Plastic potential transitions can be described with three main factors. A comprehensive understanding of brain-environment interactions is elusive even at the sensory level as neural plasticity waxes and wanes across the lifespan. Temporary and permanent visual deprivations remain pivotal approaches for studying the degree of experience-dependent plasticity of sensory functions. Natural models and experimental manipulations of visual experiences have contributed to uncovering some of the guiding principles that characterize transitions of plastic potentials in the human visual system. The existing literature regarding the neural plasticity associated with visual systems has been extensively discussed by two recent reviews articles (Röder et al., 2020; Castaldi et al., 2020) which provided an overview of different models of study and methods of investigations, gathering insights on both developing and adult brains. Here, we propose a framework of three main factors to characterize how the driving forces shaping visual circuits mutate, both quantitatively and qualitatively, between early development and adulthood.