Polysynaptic activation of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation: an olfactory input via the lateral entorhinal cortex.

The possibility that olfactory input is transmitted to specific subregions of the hippocampal formation via the entorhinal cortex was investigated electrophysiologically by analyzing the laminar profiles of potentials evoked in the hippocampal formation by stimulation of the lateral olfactory tract (LOT). LOT stimulation resulted in long latency (14--20 ms) evoked responses in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation ipsilateral to the stimulation. The variable long latency of these responses and their inability to follow stimulus rates of 40/s suggested that these potentials reflected polysynaptic activation. Analysis of the laminar profiles of the evoked potentials indicated that the responses originated from a synaptic field localized in the outer portion of the stratum moleculare of the dentate gyrus, a terminal distribution which overlaps that of the lateral entorhinal cortical (LEC) projection to the dentate gyrus. Lesions of the LEC eliminated the long latency responses in the dentate gyrus evoked by LOT stimulation. In addition, a conditioning pulse delivered either to the LOT or to the LEC produced paired pulse potentiation of the response elicited by subsequent stimulation of the other structure. No evidence was found to indicate that responses were generated in regio superior of the hippocampus proper following LOT stimulation. Taken together, these results suggest that stimulation of the LOT activates the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation by multisynaptic pathways which relay through the lateral portion of the entorhinal area. This finding is discussed with regard to entorhinal cortical organization and the known olfactory projections to the LEC.