Transmitter control of voltage-dependent currents

At one time neurotransmitters were thought of as chemical agents that simply depolarized or hyperpolarized a postsynaptic cell. Now it is known that transmitters can do much more. Biochemical processes, most notably the consequences of activation of adenylate cyclase, are subject to neurotransmitter control. Transmitters can alter a cell's sensitivity to another neurotransmitter; this is exemplified by the action of aspartate in enhancing responses to glutamate. Another action of transmitters is the subject of this review: control of voltage-dependent neuronal currents.Voltage-dependent processes are necessary for the normal function of neuronal systems. Potassium, sodium, and calcium currents that turn on and off with changes in membrane potential are responsible for action potentials and slow-wave (or burst firing) activity. Transmitter control of these ionic currents allows direct synaptic regulation of basic electrophysiological events.Discussion of the voltage-dependent actions of transmitters in neuronal systems will be divided into four areas: (a) broadening and narrowing of action potentials, (b) modulation of burst firing activity, (c) blockade of a voltage-dependent potassium conductance, and (d) induction of a voltage-dependent calcium current. The membrane currents underlying voltage-dependent events will be reviewed only as necessary to understanding transmitter effects. The reader is referred to a recent review for further details on some of these currents (1).