Action of enflurane on cholinergic transmission in identified Aplysia neurones

Effects of enflurane on the cholinergic transmission in Aplysia neurones were studied by current and voltage clamp methods. Acetylcholine (ACh) evoked three types of postsynaptic responses on different identified neurones: (1) a depolarizing response due to an increase in Na and K conductances (D-response), (2) a fast hyperpolarizing response due to an increase in C1 conductance (C1-response), and (3) a slow hyperpolarizing response due to an increase in K conductance (K-response). Enflurane altered neither the action potential nor the membrane resistance of the neurones but depressed the three ACh-induced responses, non-competitively, in a dose-dependent manner. The K-response was less suppressed than the other two. Blockade of the closed state of ion channel was suggested by a reduction in the first ACh response evoked 1 min after administration of enflurane. The anaesthetic facilitated the decay of the neurally evoked e.p.s.c. and i.p.s.c. in suggesting a reduction in the mean open time of the postsynaptic ion channel. It is concluded that enflurane depresses excitatory and inhibitory cholinergic transmission by reducing the postsynaptic currents.