Bursting induces persistent all-or-none EPSPs by an NMDA-dependent process in piriform cortex

Burst responses to stimulation of excitatory fiber tracts in olfactory cortex slices after removal of extracellular Mg2+ or decreases in extracellular Cl-, resulted in long-lasting changes in response properties of neurons following a return to normal bathing medium. After bursting activity, the response of pyramidal cells to stimulation of afferent or associational fiber systems consisted of the normal graded depolarizing postsynaptic potential and a new, high-amplitude depolarizing potential that followed the graded potential at a variable latency. The new late potential had a waveform that resembled the initial graded response, but it occurred in an all-or-none fashion with a discrete threshold and persisted for many hours. Threshold for the late potential was similar for different cells in the same slice and was not affected by intracellular current injection, indicating that a synchronized interaction among a large number of cells is involved in its generation. Properties of the late potential indicate that it is an EPSP. NMDA receptor antagonists (APV and ketamine) had little effect on the late potential but prevented its development if present during bursting activity. The possible relevance of these findings to the study of the neuronal substrate for long-term memory and epilepsy is discussed.