Cobalt and zinc salicylates as functional analogs of an initiating actor in the molluscan nervous system

We showed that applications of cobalt and zinc salicylates lead to restoration of the impulse activity of a PPa1 neuron of the snail, Helix pomatia, under conditions of the blockade of synaptic transmission by cadmium ions. In the case where a PPa1 neuron demonstrated no background activity and/or under conditions of total isolation of this cell, the above-mentioned salicylates initiate generation of action potentials, as well as exert an excitatory effect on “silent” non-identified cells of the parietal and visceral ganglia. Based on the data obtained, we conclude that the activating effect of cobalt and zinc salicylates on the PPa1 cell is similar to that of the so-called initiating factor (IF), which initiates generation of the burst activity. These effects are independent of the inward calcium current. Using an activator of cAMP phosphodiesterase, imidazole, we showed that the effects of the above salicylates (similar to the effect of IF) are related to the influence of these agents on the system of cyclic nucleotides. Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 11–17, January–February, 2006.