Molecular layer perforant path-associated cells contribute to feed-forward inhibition in the adult dentate gyrus

Abstract

New neurons, which have been implicated in pattern separation, are continually generated in the dentate gyrus in the adult hippocampus. Using a genetically modified rabies virus, we demonstrated that molecular layer perforant pathway (MOPP) cells innervated newborn granule neurons in adult mouse brain. Stimulating the perforant pathway resulted in the activation ofMOPP cells before the activation of dentate granule neurons.Moreover, activation ofMOPP cells by focal uncaging of glutamate induced strong inhibition of granule cells. Together, these results indicate that MOPP cells located in themolecular layer of the dentate gyrus contribute to feed-forward inhibition of granule cells via perforant pathway activation.