Dorsal Dentate Gyrus, a Key Regulator for Mood and Psychiatric Disorders

ABSTRACTThe dentate gyrus, a “gate” that controls the flow of information into the hippocampus, is critical for learning, memory,spatial navigation, and mood regulation. Several lines of evidence have demonstrated that deficits in dentate granulecells (DGCs) (e.g., loss of DGCs or genetic mutations in DGCs) contribute to the development of various psychiatricdisorders, such as depression and anxiety disorders. Whereas ventral DGCs are believed to be critical for moodregulation, the functions of dorsal DGCs in this regard remain elusive. Here, we review the role of DGCs, in particularthe dorsal DGCs, in the regulation of mood, their functional relationships with DGC development, and the contributionsof dysfunctional DGCs to mental disorders.