Circadian rhythm modulates long-term potentiation induced at CA1 in rat hippocampal slices

• The modulation of long-term potentiation (LTP) in light/dark cycle was studied.
• Population spike-LTP was more facilitated in dark-phase.
• Recurrent GABAergic inhibition was more suppressed in dark-phase slices.
• Suppression of recurrent inhibition in light-phase slices mimicked dark-phase ones.
• Circadian disinhibition will modulate LTP in hippocampus.

Circadian rhythm affects neuronal plasticity. Consistent with this, some forms of synaptic long-term potentiation (LTP) are modulated by the light/dark cycle (LD cycle). For example, this type of modulation is observed in hippocampal slices. In rodents, which are nocturnal, LTP is usually facilitated in the dark phase, but the rat hippocampal CA1 is an exception. The reason why LTP in the dark phase is suppressed in CA1 remains unknown. Previously, LTP was induced with high-frequency stimulation. In this study, we found that in the dark phase, theta-burst stimulation-induced LTP is indeed facilitated in CA1, similar to other regions in the rodent brain. Population excitatory postsynaptic potentials (pEPSP)-LTP and population spikes (PS)-LTP were recorded at CA1. The magnitude of PS-LTP in dark-phase slices was significantly larger than in light-phase slices, while that of pEPSP-LTP was unchanged. Using antidromic–orthodromic stimulation, we found that recurrent inhibition is suppressed in the dark phase. Local gabazine-application to stratum pyramidale in light-phase slices mimicked this disinhibition and facilitated LTP in dark-phase slices. These results suggest that the disinhibition of a GABAA recurrent inhibitory network can be induced in the dark phase, thereby facilitating LTP.