Long-term depression of excitatory synaptic transmission in rat hippocampal CA1 neurons following sleep-deprivation

In rat hippocampal CA1 neurons, excitatory synaptic transmission is depressed following a 20 Hz, 30 s stimulation in the stratum radiatum. This depression lasts for at least 25 min post-tetanus (long-term depression, LTD). The LTD is significantly enhanced by about 20% if rats were sleep-deprived for 12 h prior to recording. The increase in LTD following sleep-deprivation is a new finding which can have implications for hippocampal neuronal excitability, network activity, and induction of long-term potentiation and may account for post-sleep deprivation amnesia.