Ca 2+ -Dependent Protein Kinase Injection in a Photoreceptor Mimics Biophysical Effects of Associative Learning

Abstract

Iontophoretic injection of phosphorylase kinase, a Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase, increased input resistance, enhanced the long-lasting depolarization component of the light response, and reduced the early transient outward K+ current, IA, and the late K+ currents, IB, in type B photoreceptors of Hermissenda crassicornis in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Since behavioral and biophysical studies have shown that similar membrane changes persist after associative conditioning, these results suggest that Ca2+-dependent protein phosphorylation could mediate the long-term modulation of specific K+ channels as a step in the generation of a coditioned behavioral change.