Mechanism of Postinhibitory Rebound in Molluscan Neurons1

Abstract

Postinhibitory rebound (PIR) is an intrinsic property of many neurons but the underlying mechanism is not well understood. We studied PIR and its relationship to spike adaptation in B-cells isolated from the buccal ganglia of Aplysia. These neurons exhibit PIR following inhibitory synaptic input and following direct membrane hyperpolarization. Hyperpolarizing and depolarizing voltage clamp pulses from the resting potential evoke slow changes in membrane current that persist in the form of tail currents following the pulses. A subtraction method was used to isolate slow tail currents for study. Current-voltage measurements indicate that slow outward tail currents following depolarizing pulses result from increases in membrane conductance, while inward tail currents following hyperpolarizations to −50 and −60 mV result from conductance decreases. The reversal potential of both outward and inward tail current is between −60 and −70 mV. Tail currents activated by pulses more positive than −60 mV are sensitive to the external K concentration and blocked by injection of Cs and TEA. When Ca2 influx is prevented by bathing cells in Ca2 free saline or by adding Co2 or Ni2 , the tail currents are reduced but a significant fraction of the current is insensitive to these treatments. More negative conditioning pulses activate a second component of inward tail current that is weakly sensitive to K but more strongly effected by substitution of N-methyl glucamine or Li for external Na . We conclude that both PIR and adaptation result from slow changes in a voltage dependent, non-inactivating K conductance that is active at voltages near the resting potential and is not tightly coupled to Ca2 influx. In addition, a second inward current is activated by large hyperpolarizing pulses that results from an increase in Na and K conductance. This second process is likely to contribute to PIR under particular circumstances.