Activation mechanism of a neuromodulator-gated pacemaker ionic current.

The neuromodulator-gated current () found in the crab stomatogastric ganglion is activated by neuromodulators that are essential to induce the rhythmic activity of the pyloric network in this system. One of these neuromodulators is also known to control the correlated expression of voltage-gated ionic currents in pyloric neurons, as well as synaptic plasticity and strength. Thus understanding the mechanism by which neuromodulator receptors activate should provide insights not only into how oscillations are initiated but also into how other processes, and currents not directly activated by them, are regulated.