The ontogeny of hippocampal spatial memory is supported by postnatal Cajal-Retzius cells

Postnatal hippocampal Cajal-Retzius (CR) cell ablation makes animals learn reward locations more slowly and with more errors, linked to less stable internal representations.

• Why it matters: Adult hippocampal spatial memory depends on developmental circuit formation, but how postnatal CR cells shape adult spatial learning and CA1 coding stability was unclear.
• What they did: CR cells were selectively ablated from the postnatal hippocampus, then spatial learning, navigation, and CA1 spatial representations were assessed alongside reinforcement-learning model analyses.
• The result: CA1 spatial representations persisted but became more unstable, with reduced differentiation of reward locations—especially when task conditions changed—supporting a role for postnatal CR cells in representation stability and adaptive behavior.

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