Action of dopamine as inhibitory neuromodulator in jellyfish synapse

Abstract

Dopamine (DA) acts on swimming motor neurons (SMNs) of Polyorchis penicillatus as an inhibitory neurotransmitter by hyperpolarizing their membrane potentials, which results from the activation of voltage-sensitive potassium channels mediated through a D2-type receptor. In addition, DA, and not the hyperpolarized membrane potential, directly decreased the input resistance of SMNs by ca. 50% from 1.42 to 0.68 GΩ. It strongly indicates that DA can shunt other excitatory synaptic signals onto SMNs where DA usually elicited much greater responses in their neuntes than soma. All these evidences suggest that DA may operate in this primitive nervous system in dual modes as an inhibitory neurotransmitter and neuromodulator as well.