RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 The Range of Intrinsic Frequencies Represented by Medial Entorhinal Cortex Stellate Cells Extends with Age JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 4585 OP 4589 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4939-09.2010 VO 30 IS 13 A1 Boehlen, Anne A1 Heinemann, Uwe A1 Erchova, Irina YR 2010 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/13/4585.abstract AB In both humans and rodents, the external environment is encoded in the form of cognitive maps. Neurons in the medial entorhinal cortex (mEC) represent spatial locations in a sequence of grid-like patterns scaled along the dorsal–ventral axis. The grid spacing correlates with the intrinsic resonance frequencies of stellate cells in layer II of mEC. We investigated the development of frequency preferences in these cells from weaning to adulthood using patch-clamp and sharp microelectrode recordings. We found that the dorsal–ventral gradient of stellate cell properties and frequency preferences exists before animals are able to actively explore their environment. In the transition to adulthood, cells respond faster and become less excitable, and the range of intrinsic resonance frequencies in the population expands in the dorsal direction. This is likely to reflect both the growth of the brain and the expansion of the internal representation caused by new exploratory experience.