Neonatal hippocampal lesion alters the functional maturation of the prefrontal cortex and the early cognitive development in pre-juvenile rats

► Rats discriminate novelty only after maturation of sensory/motor abilities. ► Lesion of HP at birth modifies the oscillatory activity in the pre-juvenile PFC. ► Initial recognition memory, but not anxiety or locomotor behavior relies on intact HP. ► Novelty detection requires intact prefrontal-hippocampal networks.