Blockade of hippocampal long-term potentiation by sustained tetanic stimulation near the recording site.

Specific patterns of electrical stimulation trigger several forms of synaptic plasticity in hippocampal pyramidal cells, including a long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synaptic transmission. I investigated the effect of commonly used stimulation protocols at different distances from the recording site. Sustained electrical stimulation (100 Hz, 1 s) delivered close to the recording site prevented LTP induction; the same stimulation from a second electrode placed farther away subsequently produced LTP at the same recording site. Strong stimulation near the recording site could also interfere with LTP triggered from a distal site. In contrast to sustained high-frequency stimulation, intermittent stimulation (theta burst pattern) delivered close to the recording site produced normal LTP. These data support the hypothesis that strong stimulation releases a factor that acts locally to prevent LTP.