The induction of hippocampal frequency-potentiation (i.e. post-tetanic potentiation (PTP) and long-term potentiation (LTP) was analyzed in rat hippocampal slices obtained from animals showing impaired place learning in the Morris water maze as a consequence of bilateral striatal injection of quinolinic acid. Vehicle-injected animals, showing normal performances in the Morris water maze, behaved as controls. After the application of an electrical tetanus (1 s, 100 Hz, 50 microA) in the stratum radiatum, no significant differences were found in the percent of induction of both PTP and LTP in the CA1 area of hippocampal slices obtained from lesioned and sham-operated rats. After the application of an electrical tetanus (1 s, 100 Hz 50 microA) in the stratum moleculare, a significant difference was found in the percent of dentate PTP induction in hippocampal slices obtained from lesioned and sham-operated rats. Specifically, dentate PTP induction was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in slices obtained from sham-operated rats with a good performance in the Morris water maze than in slices obtained from striatally lesioned rats, which had shown poor performance in the Morris water maze. On the contrary, no significant differences were found in the percent of dentate LTP in hippocampal slices obtained from rats of the two groups. The data demonstrate that the impairment of the place learning in striatally lesioned rats is associated with a selective reduction of hippocampal dentate frequency-potentiation.