Synchronous activity patterns in the dentate gyrus during immobility

The hippocampal dentate gyrus is an important relay conveying sensory information from the entorhinal cortex to the hippocampus proper. During exploration, the dentate gyrus has been proposed to act as a pattern separator. However, the dentate gyrus also shows structured activity during immobility and sleep. The properties of these activity patterns at cellular resolution, and their role in hippocampal-dependent memory processes have remained unclear. Using dual-color in vivo two-photon Ca(2+) imaging, we show that in immobile mice dentate granule cells generate sparse, synchronized activity patterns associated with entorhinal cortex activation. These population events are structured and modified by changes in the environment; and they incorporate place- and speed cells. Importantly, they are more similar than expected by chance to population patterns evoked during self-motion. Using optogenetic inhibition, we show that granule cell activity is not only required during exploration, but also during immobility in order to form dentate gyrus-dependent spatial memories.