Perfusion with high potassium plus glutamate can cause LTP erasure or persistent loss of neuronal responsiveness in the CA1 region of the hippocampal slice

Brief perfusion of salines containing elevated (10.5−50mM) [K⁺] plus glutamate (2.5 or 5 mM) could erase long-term protentiation (LTP) in rat hippocampal slices. Prolonged perfusion with high-[K⁺]/glutamate could cause persistent neuronal depression lasting > 1 h. LTP erasure occurred in the absence of generalized depression of axonal responsiveness, while persistent neuronal depression was associated with a failure of antidromic invasion of cells. The protocols used may contribute to the development of a model for the cellular study of memory loss following neurological dysfunction.