Grid cells in rats deprived of geometric experience during development.

ABSTRACT: The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) is part of the brain's network for dynamic representation of location. The most abundant class of neurons in this circuit is the grid cell, characterized by its periodic, hexagonally patterned firing fields. While in developing animals some MEC cell types express adult-like firing patterns already on the first exposure to an open spatial environment, only days after eye opening, grid cells mature more slowly, over a 1-to-2-wk period after the animals leave their nest. Whether the later emergence of a periodic grid pattern reflects a need for experience with spatial environments has not been determined. We here show that grid-like firing patterns continue to appear during exploration of open square environments in rats that are raised for the first months

SUBMITTER: Ulsaker-Janke I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10576132 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature