Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the tone
The dentate gyrus is a region in the mammalian brain critical for memory encoding with a neuronal architecture and function that deviates considerably from other cortical areas. One of the major differences of the dentate gyrus compared to other brain regions is the finding that the dentate gyrus ge...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2013-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnins.2013.00050/full |
| _version_ | 1819033848137121792 |
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| author | Verónica C Piatti Laura A. Ewell Jill K. Leutgeb |
| author_facet | Verónica C Piatti Laura A. Ewell Jill K. Leutgeb |
| author_sort | Verónica C Piatti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The dentate gyrus is a region in the mammalian brain critical for memory encoding with a neuronal architecture and function that deviates considerably from other cortical areas. One of the major differences of the dentate gyrus compared to other brain regions is the finding that the dentate gyrus generates new principal neurons that are continuously integrated into a fully functional neural circuit throughout life. Another distinguishing characteristic of the dentate network is that the majority of principal neurons are held under strong inhibition and rarely fire action potentials. These two findings raise the question why a predominantly silent network would need to continually incorporate more functional units. The sparse nature of the neural code in the dentate gyrus is thought to be fundamental to dentate network function, yet the relationship between neurogenesis and low activity levels in the network remains largely unknown. Clues to the functional role of new neurons come from inquiries at the cellular as well as the behavioral level. Few studies have bridged the gap between these levels of inquiry by considering the role of young neurons within the complex dentate network during distinct stages of memory processing. We will review and discuss from a network perspective, the functional role of immature neurons and how their unique cellular properties can modulate the dentate network in memory guided behaviors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T07:24:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe00e979e26646a3a7a87176c5d39862 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-453X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T07:24:21Z |
| publishDate | 2013-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe00e979e26646a3a7a87176c5d398622022-12-21T19:11:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neuroscience1662-453X2013-04-01710.3389/fnins.2013.0005045461Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the toneVerónica C Piatti0Laura A. Ewell1Jill K. Leutgeb2University of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, San DiegoThe dentate gyrus is a region in the mammalian brain critical for memory encoding with a neuronal architecture and function that deviates considerably from other cortical areas. One of the major differences of the dentate gyrus compared to other brain regions is the finding that the dentate gyrus generates new principal neurons that are continuously integrated into a fully functional neural circuit throughout life. Another distinguishing characteristic of the dentate network is that the majority of principal neurons are held under strong inhibition and rarely fire action potentials. These two findings raise the question why a predominantly silent network would need to continually incorporate more functional units. The sparse nature of the neural code in the dentate gyrus is thought to be fundamental to dentate network function, yet the relationship between neurogenesis and low activity levels in the network remains largely unknown. Clues to the functional role of new neurons come from inquiries at the cellular as well as the behavioral level. Few studies have bridged the gap between these levels of inquiry by considering the role of young neurons within the complex dentate network during distinct stages of memory processing. We will review and discuss from a network perspective, the functional role of immature neurons and how their unique cellular properties can modulate the dentate network in memory guided behaviors.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnins.2013.00050/fullDentate GyrusNeurogenesisinhibitionPattern SeparationSparse Coding |
| spellingShingle | Verónica C Piatti Laura A. Ewell Jill K. Leutgeb Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the tone Frontiers in Neuroscience Dentate Gyrus Neurogenesis inhibition Pattern Separation Sparse Coding |
| title | Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the tone |
| title_full | Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the tone |
| title_fullStr | Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the tone |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the tone |
| title_short | Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus: carrying the message or dictating the tone |
| title_sort | neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus carrying the message or dictating the tone |
| topic | Dentate Gyrus Neurogenesis inhibition Pattern Separation Sparse Coding |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnins.2013.00050/full |
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