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Dopamine produces muscle contractions and modulates motoneuron-induced contractions inAplysia gill

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Dopamine has been reported to exist in unusually large quantities inAplysia gill. The physiological role of this neurotransmitter in this organ was examined.

  2. 2.

    The addition of dopamine to a gill perfusate results in the contractions of the lateral and medial external pinnule muscles, the circular and longitudinal muscles of the afferent vessel, and the circular muscles of the efferent vessel.

  3. 3.

    Dopamine-induced contractions persist after chemical synaptic transmission is eliminated in the gill. This suggests that excitatory dopamine receptors are present on gill smooth muscle fibers themselves.

  4. 4.

    Dopamine also potentiates the gill response to action potentials in single identified gill motoneurons. Evidence presented suggests that muscle contractions and modulation of motoneuron contractions are independent phenomena.

  5. 5.

    While modulation may in part be mediated by increases in excitatory junction potential (EJP) amplitude, in many cases large increases in muscle contractions occur while the enhancement of EJPs is disproportionately small.

  6. 6.

    Dopamine's ability to produce muscle contractions suggests that there may be dopaminergic motoneuron innervation of the gill. We suggest that dopamine's modulatory actions may be mediated via modification of excitation-contraction coupling in smooth muscle fibers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York State Department of Health, Center for Laboratories and Research, 12201, Albany, New York, USA

    John W. Swann, Martha G. Pierson & David O. Carpenter

  2. Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, National Naval Medical Center, 20014, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    John W. Swann, C. Nelson Sinback, Martha G. Pierson & David O. Carpenter

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  1. John W. Swann
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  2. C. Nelson Sinback
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  3. Martha G. Pierson
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  4. David O. Carpenter
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Swann, J.W., Sinback, C.N., Pierson, M.G. et al. Dopamine produces muscle contractions and modulates motoneuron-induced contractions inAplysia gill. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2, 291–308 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00710850

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00710850

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