Dentate gyrus
| Dentate gyrus | |
|---|---|
Diagram of hippocampal regions. DG: Dentate gyrus. | |
Coronal section of brain immediately in front of pons. (Label for "Gyrus dentatus" is at bottom center.) | |
| Details | |
| Part of | Temporal lobe |
| Artery | Posterior cerebral Anterior choroidal |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | gyrus dentatus |
| MeSH | D018891 |
| NeuroNames | 179 |
| NeuroLex ID | birnlex_1178 |
| TA98 | A14.1.09.237 A14.1.09.339 |
| TA2 | 5521 |
| FMA | 61922 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
The dentate gyrus (DG) is one of the subfields of the hippocampus, in the hippocampal formation. The hippocampal formation is located in the temporal lobe of the brain, and includes the hippocampus (including CA1 to CA4) subfields, and other subfields including the dentate gyrus, subiculum, and presubiculum.
The dentate gyrus is part of the trisynaptic circuit, a neural circuit of the hippocampus, thought to contribute to the formation of new episodic memories, the spontaneous exploration of novel environments and other functions. The dentate gyrus has toothlike projections from which it is named.
The subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus is one of only two major sites of adult neurogenesis in the brain, and is found in many mammals. The other main site is the subventricular zone in the ventricular system. Other sites may include the striatum and the cerebellum. However, whether significant neurogenesis takes place in the adult human dentate gyrus has been a matter of debate.