The Site of Action of General Anaesthetics in Insect Olfactory Receptor Neurons

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Abstract
The effect of volatile anaesthetics such as N2O, Xe, short-chain alkanes and cyclopropane, at pharmacologically relevant concentrations, on olfactory receptor neurons of insects was tested in electrophysiological recordings. CO2-receptor neurons in moths and files respond with increased action potential activity, whereas in adherence to the Meyer-Overton rule; alkanes of a chain length of 5 and above are less effective or evoke suppression of action potentials. In olfactiory receptor neurons sensitive to benzoic acid in female moths of Bombyx mori and in pheromone receptor neurons of male moths of Antheraea polyphemus, anaesthetics are ineffective if applied alone; if superimposed on an excitatory olfactory stimulus, an inhibitory effect occurs, Local stimulation of only part of a sensory dendrite reveals that the anaesthetics reversibly block the reception of pheromone or its effect on the conductance of the receptor cell memebrane. The observed interactions are consistent with the hypothesis that the anaesthetics do not interact with the primary transduction process, but rather affect a later stage such as the activation of ion channels.

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