Increased granule cell neurogenesis in the adult dentate gyrus following mossy fiber stimulation sufficient to induce long-term potentiation

Neurons are continually added at a low rate to the granule cell layer of th e dentate gyrus during adulthood in rats. The functional significance of th is unusual feature is not completely understood, although recent studies su ggest continued granule cell neurogenesis is essential for normal learning and memory. We report here that, in the adult rat, stimulation of the granu le cell mossy fibers sufficient to induce long-term potentiation (LTP) incr eases the number of newly formed granule cells in the dentate gyrus, indica ting that granule cell neurogenesis is regulated by efferent activity and, possibly, the induction of LTP. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.