1. The dentate gyrus has been proposed to be a gate for entry of neuronal activity into the hippocampus. This function would give it a critical role in the propagation of seizure activity in that region. The hallmark of epileptiform activity in the dentate itself, often referred to as "maximal dentate activation" (MDA), has not been reproduced previously in vitro. 2. With the use of rat hippocampal slices, bath [Ca2+] was decreased, and [K+] was increased concurrently to simulate conditions found during intense neuronal activity in vivo. Both evoked and spontaneous field bursts were observed in the dentate granule cell layer under these conditions. These bursts were similar to MDA, consisting of a prolonged negative shift in extracellular potential with large-amplitude population spikes. 3. In 0.5 mM bath [Ca2+], single stimuli applied to the perforant path could evoke prolonged field bursts in the dentate only when bath [K+] was > or = 9 mM. However, repetitive stimulation (10 Hz) of the perforant path could elicit similar dentate responses when bath [K+] was as low as 5 mM. 4. In 0.5 mM bath [Ca2+], interictal-type bursts appeared spontaneously in CA1 and CA3 when bath [K+] was > or = 5 mM but were lost when [K+] was > 9 mM. Spontaneous seizurelike activity in the dentate required a higher minimum bath [K+] (9 mM) and persisted at [K+] of 11 mM. 5. Stimulation-evoked field bursts in the dentate altered epileptiform activity in CA3. At bath [K+] insufficient to cause spontaneous CA3 bursts, CA3 was activated transiently when prolonged field bursts occurred in the dentate. At higher bath [K+] in which spontaneous CA3 bursts did occur, they were depressed during the dentate bursts. 6. Deletion of Ca2+ from the bath; the addition of 30 microM each of bicuculline methiodide, D,L-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoate (AP-5), and 6,7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX); or the combination of both manipulations did not block antidromically evoked or spontaneous prolonged field bursts in the dentate. Thus the mechanisms maintaining and propagating these events did not require fast amino acid-mediated synaptic transmission. 7. The concurrent alteration of [K+] and [Ca2+] required to produce prolonged field bursts in the dentate underscores the positive feedback relationship between neuronal excitation and extracellular ionic concentrations, whereas the ability of synaptic stimulation to trigger nonsynaptic seizurelike events such as these prolonged field bursts may be relevant to the transition from interictal to ictal activity in vivo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)