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Effects of GABA, Imidazoleacetic Acid, and Related Substances on Conductance of Crayfish Abdominal Stretch Receptor

Nature New Biology volume 246, pages 91–92 (1973)Cite this article

Abstract

AN inhibitory nerve, the putative transmitter of which is γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), synapses with the dendrites of the slowly adapting crayfish stretch receptor neurone1. Perfusion of this neurone with GABA results in a large increment of conductance to chloride ions. This has been a favoured preparation for testing the effects of substances which might mimic or block the action of GABA on postsynaptic receptor sites. In most instances known to us, such studies have been performed using the measurement of rates of discharge of the stretch receptor neurone. Although under normal conditions the impulse frequency is a linear function of the generator potential, it has been shown that the transducer and impulse-generating processes in the slowly adapting receptor organ of the crayfish are separable and independent2. Therefore, it is safer and more direct to measure the influence of potential GABA-mimetic or GABA-blocking substances on membrane conductance of the stretch receptor neurone (or any other neurone) rather than on firing rates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurosciences, City of Hope National Medical Center, 1500 E. Duarte Road, Duarte, California, 91010

    M. W. SWAGEL, K. IKEDA & E. ROBERTS

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  1. M. W. SWAGEL
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  2. K. IKEDA
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  3. E. ROBERTS
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SWAGEL, M., IKEDA, K. & ROBERTS, E. Effects of GABA, Imidazoleacetic Acid, and Related Substances on Conductance of Crayfish Abdominal Stretch Receptor. Nature New Biology 246, 91–92 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/newbio246091a0

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