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Characterization of a transient outward current in a rapidly adapting insect mechanosensory neuron

  • Original Article
  • Neurophysiology, Muscle and Sensory Organs
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Abstract

This paper describes the first voltage-clamp recordings from an arthropod cuticular sensory neuron. In the femoral tactile spine neuron of the cockroachPeriplaneta americana, a rapidly activating and inactivating outward current,I A, appeared when the neuron was hyperpolarized for a short period before a depolarizing test pulse.I A could be separated from the other outward currents using 5 mM 4-aminopyridine (4-AP), which specifically blocked it. Tetraethylammonium (TEA), (50 mM) did not removeI A, but decreased the steady-state outward current by about 50%. The threshold forI A activation was about -75 mV. The minimum activation and inactivation time constants were approximately 0.2 ms and 15 ms, respectively. The voltage dependencies of activation and inactivation were well fit-ted by Boltzmann distributions, giving values of membrane potential at halfmaximal activation (V 50) equal to −56.5 mV and an equivalent gating charge ofn=3.9 for activation andV 50=-86.7 mV andn=3.4 for inactivation. In current-clamp recordings, 4-AP reversibly reduced the cell's normal adaptation by lowering the threshold for action potentials, but did not affect the amplitude or duration of single action potentials. These results indicate thatI A plays a role in short-term adaptation by opposing membrane depolarization and reducing the spike frequency during maintained stimulation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, University of Alberta, T6G 2H7, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    Päivi H. Torkkeli & Andrew S. French

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  1. Päivi H. Torkkeli
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  2. Andrew S. French
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Torkkeli, P.H., French, A.S. Characterization of a transient outward current in a rapidly adapting insect mechanosensory neuron. Pflugers Arch. 429, 72–78 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02584032

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02584032

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