High-frequency septal stimulation suppresses long-term potentiation (LTP) in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus

The effects of high-frequency stimulation (HFS) of the medial septum/diagonal band (MSDB) on long-term potentiation (LTP) of CA1 extracellular field potentials were assessed in anesthetized rats. Ten rats received HFS of the Schaffer collateral pathway alone, and 10 received MSDB HFS 10 min prior to hippocampal HFS. Septal HFS suppressed LTP development assessed by change in population spike (PS) amplitude 60 min after hippocampal HFS (ANOVA, P less than 0.03). Septal inhibition of LTP development was most prominent when septal HFS had little direct effect on the CA1 PS. These results provide a novel demonstration of the functional heterogeneity of septohippocampal pathways and in vivo modulation of hippocampal LTP by HFS of natural afferent inputs.