Tonic dopamine induces persistent changes in the transient potassium current through translational regulation.

Neuromodulatory effects can vary with their mode of transmission. Phasic release produces local and transient increases in dopamine (DA) up to micromolar concentrations. Additionally, since DA is released from open synapses and reuptake mechanisms are not nearby, tonic nanomolar DA exists in the extracellular space. Do phasic and tonic transmissions similarly regulate voltage-dependent ionic conductances in a given neuron? It was previously shown that DA could immediately alter the transient potassium current (I(A)) of identified neurons in the stomatogastric ganglion of the spiny lobster Panulirus interruptus. Here we show that DA can also persistently alter I(A), and that the immediate and persistent effects of DA oppose one another. The lateral pyloric (LP) neuron exclusively expresses type 1 DA receptors (D1Rs). Micromolar DA produces immediate depolarizing shifts in the voltage dependence of LP I(A), whereas tonic nanomolar DA produces a persistent increase in LP I(A) maximal conductance (G(max)) through a translation-dependent mechanism involving target of rapamycin (TOR). The pyloric dilator (PD) neuron exclusively expresses D2Rs. Micromolar DA produces an immediate hyperpolarizing shift in PD I(A) voltage dependence of activation, whereas tonic DA persistently decreases PD I(A) G(max) through a translation-dependent mechanism not involving TOR. The persistent effects on I(A) G(max) do not depend on LP or PD activity. These data suggest a role for tonic modulators in the regulation of voltage-gated ion channel number; and furthermore, that dopaminergic systems may be organized to limit the amount of change they can impose on a circuit.