Perforant Path

Perforant Path

In the brain, the perforant pathway provides a connectional route from the entorhinal cortex to all fields of the hippocampal formation, including the dentate gyrus, all CA fields (including CA1), and the subiculum.

Though it arises mainly from entorhinal layers II and III, it comprises a smaller component that originates in deep layers V and VI. There is a major dichotomy with respect to the laminar origin and related terminal distribution: neurons in layer II (and possibly layer VI) project to the dentate gyrus and CA3, whereas layer III (and possibly layer V) cells project to CA1 and the subiculum.

It may play a role in temporal lobe seizures.