Properties of the on-transient of the intracellular response in the barnacle photoreceptor.

We have studied the on-transient of the receptor potential of the barnacle photoreceptor. Its amplitude has previously been shown to depend on light intensity and state of light-dark adaptation. We have examined its dependence on 1) the presence of a prolonged depolarizing afterpotential (PDA), 2) a background light, 3) added alcohol, or 4) decreased K+ concentration in the bath. We find that the relative on-transient amplitude tends to increase initially with increasing depolarization arising from 1)-4) and then to decrease again at higher depolarization. This behavior is qualitatively explainable by the cell's current-voltage characteristics and by the adapting effect of the stimulus on the conductances arising from the PDA, the background light and the alcohol.