  Brain development relies on both experience and genetically defined programs.
Time windows where certain brain circuits are particularly receptive to
external stimuli, resulting in heightened plasticity, are referred to as
critical periods. Sleep is thought to be essential for normal brain
development. Importantly, studies have shown that sleep enhances critical
period plasticity and promotes experience-dependent synaptic pruning in the
developing mammalian brain. Therefore, normal plasticity during critical
periods depends on proper sleep. Problems falling and staying asleep occur at a
higher rate in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) relative to typical development.
In this review, we explore the potential link between sleep, critical period
plasticity, and ASD. First, we review the importance of critical period
plasticity in typical development and the role of sleep in this process. Next,
we summarize the evidence linking ASD with deficits in synaptic plasticity in
rodent models of high-confident ASD gene candidates. We then show that almost
all the high-confidence rodent models of ASD that show sleep deficits also
display plasticity deficits. Given how important sleep is for critical period
plasticity, it is essential to understand the connections between synaptic
plasticity, sleep, and brain development in ASD. However, studies investigating
sleep or plasticity during critical periods in ASD mouse models are lacking.
Therefore, we highlight an urgent need to consider developmental trajectory in
studies of sleep and plasticity in neurodevelopmental disorders.
