Theta frequency stimulation up-regulates the synaptic strength of the pathway from CA1 to subiculum region of hippocampus.

The subiculum (SB) is the principal target of the axons of the CA1 pyramidal cells and serves as the final relay in the trisynaptic loop between the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus. We have examined synaptic plasticity in the synaptic pathway between the CA1 pyramidal cells and the SB in hippocampal slices and compared it under the same experimental condition with the synaptic plasticity in Shaffer collateral pathway (CA3-CA1). We find that the frequency response curve of synaptic strength induced by prolonged low-frequency stimulation (1-5 Hz) is systematically up-shifted from Shaffer collateral to the CA1-SB pathway. The up-regulation of synaptic strength is mediated by the activity-dependent modulation by beta-adrenergic transmission. Because the CA3-CA1 and the CA1-SB synaptic pathways are in series and the beta-adrenergic modulation is region-specific, this modulation seems to be involved in the selective control of signal transmission between the different regions of hippocampus.