Abstract
This chapter discusses the properties of the bag cell neurons of Aplysia , with a major focus on the modulation of potassium and calcium currents by different second messenger systems linked to the activation of protein kinases. It provides a brief account of the evidence that the peptide synthesis may be modulated in these neurons and that their excitability can be modulated by the cell's own released peptides. The chapter also gives a description of the way in which a change in the nature of the response to a second messenger system is associated with a prolonged modification of excitability. The bag cell neurons have proved to be a model system for the investigation of mechanisms regulating changes in neuronal excitability that result in alterations in an animal behavior. The phosphorylation of proteins, coordinated through the activation of second messenger systems, results in the alterations of the properties of ionic currents, which regulate the excitability of these neurons, and in changes in the synthesis of peptides to be released during neuronal activity.
Published Version
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