The idea of the dentate gyrus as a gate or filter at the entrance to the hippocampus, blocking
or filtering incoming excitation from the entorhinal cortex, has been an intriguing one. Here
we review the historical development of the idea, and discuss whether it may be possible to
be more specific in defining this gate. We propose that dentate function can be understood
within a context of Hebbian association and competition: hilar mossy cells help the dentate
granule cells to recognize incoming entorhinal patterns of activity (Hebbian association) …