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Role of Calcium in the Seasonal Modulation of Pacemaker Activity in a Molluscan Neurosecretory Cell

Nature volume 245, pages 462–464 (1973)Cite this article

Abstract

MOLLUSCAN ganglia contain several pacemaker neurones that spontaneously generate slow membrane potential oscillations associated with a burst of spikes during the depolarising phase (bursting pacemaker potential, or BPP)1–5. One such neurone, a neurosecretory cell in land snails, produces BPPs when the snail is active, but is typically silent and could not induce BPP activity during aestivation (hibernation)6–8. We report here that calcium is important in the seasonal modulation of this cell's BPP activity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Biology Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, 20014

    JEFFERY L. BARKER & HAROLD GAINER

Authors
  1. JEFFERY L. BARKER
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  2. HAROLD GAINER
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BARKER, J., GAINER, H. Role of Calcium in the Seasonal Modulation of Pacemaker Activity in a Molluscan Neurosecretory Cell. Nature 245, 462–464 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/245462b0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/245462b0

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