Neurophysiological changes associated with selective neuronal damage in hippocampus following transient forebrain ischemia

Neurophysiological changes of hippocampal neurons were compared before and after transient forebrain ischemia using intracellular recording and staining techniques in vivo. Ischemic depolarization (ID) was used as an indication of severe ischemia. Under halothane anesthesia, approximately 13 min of ID consistently produced severe neuronal damage in the CA1 region of rat hippocampus, while CA3 pyramidal neurons and dentate granule cells remained intact. After such severe ischemia, approximately 60% of the CA1 neurons exhibited a synaptic potentiation. The excitability of these neurons progressively decreased following reperfusion. Approximately 30% of the CA1 neurons showed a synaptic depression following ischemia. The excitability of these neurons transiently decreased following reperfusion. After ischemia of the same severity, both synaptic transmission and excitability of CA3 and granule cells transiently depressed. These data suggest that ischemia-induced synaptic potentiation may be associated with the pathogenesis of neuronal damage following ischemia, and that the synaptic depression may have protective effects on hippocampal neurons after ischemic insult.