Induction of long-term potentiation at perforant path dentate synapses does not affect place learning or memory.

In two experiments the authors failed to detect an effect of inducing bilateral, long-lasting synaptic potentiation at perforant path dentate synapses on spatial learning by rats in the Morris place navigation task. Daily sessions of high-frequency stimulation of perforant path axons produced large increases to an asymptotic level in population spike and field excitatory postsynaptic potential recorded in ipsilateral dentate gyrus. Place learning proceeded normally 24 hours after the last of 14 high-frequency stimulation sessions in rats that had previously mastered the procedural aspects of place navigation (Experiment 1) and in rats that were naive (Experiment 2).