Potentiation and depression of synaptic transmission in the olfactory cortex of the guinea-pig.

1. The extracellular field potentials of the olfactory cortex evoked by stimulation of the lateral olfactory tract (l.o.t.) were studied in in vitro preparations from the olfactory cortex. The field potentials comprised an initial diphasic wave - the l.o.t. compound action potential - followed by a negative wave of about 10 msec duration which in turn was followed by a low amplitude positive wave of long duration (100 msec or more). In this paper, the size of the negative field potential (extracellularly recorded EPSP) has been studied during and after periods of repetitive stimulation of the l.o.t.2. If two identical volleys were delivered to the l.o.t. the second evoked EPSP was not the same size as the conditioning EPSP. At brief conditioning intervals (up to 10 msec) the second (test) EPSP was smaller than the control. For conditioning intervals between 10 and 200 msec, the test EPSP was potentiated over the control. For long conditioning intervals (300 msec up to 5 sec) the test EPSP was again slightly smaller than the control EPSP. After a brief conditioning train, the depression of a test EPSP (elicited 300 msec or more after the conditioning train) was more pronounced and lasted longer. These changes of test EPSP size were attributed to the presence of two opposing processes: an initial potentiation superimposed on a more prolonged but less pronounced depression.3. During prolonged repetitive stimulation the final steady amplitude of an EPSP varied with the frequency of stimulation. At low frequencies (0.5-2/sec) the steady EPSP amplitude was 90-95% of the initial control amplitude. At moderate frequencies (5-20/sec) the steady EPSP amplitude was greater than the initial control. At high frequencies (above 20/sec) the steady amplitude of the EPSPs declined with increasing frequency of stimulation. Potentiation of EPSPs was observed early in a train of impulses when the stimulation frequency was 5-70/sec.4. After a large number of stimuli at frequencies from 20 to 100/sec the amplitude of individual, infrequently evoked, EPSPs passed through a phase of depression that lasted about 30 sec. This depression was followed by a phase of potentiation (post-tetanic potentiation). The amplitude and duration of post-tetanic potentiation appeared to depend on the characteristics of the conditioning train.5. The discussion compares the results obtained with those obtained for other mammalian synapses. It is suggested that the transmitter in the presynaptic terminals could be in three parts, (a) immediately available transmitter (b) conditionally available transmitter requiring a single nerve impulse for its availability and (c) main depot transmitter which replenishes the other two stores. Potentiation and depression of evoked EPSPs were interpreted in terms of changes in the amount of transmitter released by the test volley. According to this analysis, a fixed proportion (about 10%) of the immediately available transmitter is released by each nerve impulse.