Potentiation of excitatory postsynaptic potentials during and after repetitive stimulation in thin hippocampal sections.

Excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) elicited by mossy fiber stimulation were recorded intracellularly from neurons in the CA3 region in thin hippocampal sections in vitro and potentiation of the EPSPs was examined during and after repetitive stimulation. Inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) and seizure discharges were blocked by bicuculline and high concentrations of Mg2+. When two shocks were applied at short intervals, the second EPSP was markedly potentiated. This potentiation declined exponentially with a time-constant of about 180 ms and was unaffected by changes in ambient temperature. The amount of potentiation during a pulse train was explained by summation of potentiation by individual pulses. Post tetanic potentiation lasted longer in media containing Ca2+ at higher concentrations and Mg2+ at lower concentrations. At high Ca2+ concentrations, tetanic stimulation induced long-term potentiation which was occasionally preceded by a long-lasting suppression. Tetanus to a bundle of mossy fibers potentiated EPSPs elicited by stimulation of a separate bundle of mossy fibers (heterosynaptic potentiation) but did not augment EPSPs elicited by fimbrial stimulation.