cranial plasticity

Cranial plasticity refers to the brain's ability to adapt and mold the shape of the skull during early childhood as it grows. This flexibility allows the skull bones to expand and change shape in response to brain development, facilitating proper growth and function. As children grow, the skull sutures—flexible joints between skull bones—remain open, enabling this malleability. Over time, these sutures gradually close, reducing flexibility. This natural plasticity is essential for accommodating rapid brain growth in infancy and early childhood, and it diminishes with age.