Reciprocal modulation of calcium current by serotonin and dopamine in the identified Aplysia neuron R15.

Voltage-clamp methods were employed to study the effects of serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine on the pharmacologically isolated calcium current in the identified Aplysia neuron R15 grown in cell culture. Neurons were obtained from juvenile animals and had not yet developed the bursting pacemaker pattern of activity characteristic of R15 in mature animals. In R15 5-HT elicits a biphasic response consisting of excitatory depolarization followed by an inhibitory hyperpolarization and dopamine elicits an inhibitory hyperpolarization. 5-HT increased the Ca2+ current without affecting its voltage dependence. The 5-HT effect persisted when Ba2+ was employed to carry current through Ca2+ channels. 5-HT did not affect the rate of Ca2+-dependent Ca2+ current inactivation other than through its effect on the magnitude of the Ca2+ current. The adenylate cyclase activator forskolin, in the presence of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, also increased the magnitude of the Ca2+ or Ba2+ current. This result suggested that the 5-HT-induced enhancement of Ca2+ current was mediated by cAMP. Dopamine inhibited Ca2+ current when either Ca2+ or Ba2+ was employed as the current carrier. Dopamine did not affect the rate of Ca2+-dependent inactivation of Ca2+ current other than through its effect on the magnitude of the Ca2+ current. Intracellular injection of the Ca2+ chelator EGTA inhibited serotonergic modulation of the Ca2+ current but not dopaminergic modulation. These results indicated that the putative neurotransmitters 5-HT and dopamine may regulate bursting activity in mature R15 neurons through modulation of Ca2+ current.