synaptic pruning

This term describes a critical developmental phase where the nervous system streamlines its architecture. It is not a sign of decay or loss, but rather a sophisticated optimization process that removes redundant or weak connections to strengthen the most useful ones.

In a clinical or academic register, it is used to explain the transition from the high plasticity of childhood to the specialized efficiency of the adult brain. It is frequently discussed in the context of neurodevelopmental disorders, where an imbalance in this process—either too much or too little pruning—is hypothesized to contribute to conditions like autism or schizophrenia.