Fig. 3.

Ethanol affects currents elicited by maximally effective concentrations of taurine but not glycine. A, sample tracing showing the effects of maximally effective concentrations of glycine and taurine applied with or without 200 mM ethanol. The tracing shows 30-s preincubations with 200 mM EtOH followed immediately by 15-s applications of either 10 mM glycine or 100 mM taurine plus EtOH. Each of these applications was preceded and followed by applications of 10 mM glycine or 100 mM taurine, respectively. Horizontal bars over tracings indicate time of exposure to glycine, taurine, or ethanol. B, summary of the effects of 200 mM ethanol on 15-s applications of maximally effective concentrations of glycine or taurine. The y-axis represents the percentage change in current observed in the presence of ethanol compared with that produced by glycine or taurine applied alone. Data are shown as mean ± S.E.M. of six oocytes. ***, P < 0.001. C, sample tracings showing the effects of 200 mM ethanol coapplied with saturating concentrations of glycine or taurine, after the neurotransmitters had already been applied for 10 min. In the top tracing 10 mM glycine was applied for 10 min followed immediately by coapplication of 10 mM glycine plus 200 mM ethanol for 1 min. The bottom tracing shows a similar experiment using 100 mM taurine instead of glycine. D, summary graph of the effects of 200 mM ethanol during long applications of saturating concentrations of glycine and taurine. The y-axis represents the percentage change in current observed in the presence of ethanol compared with the glycine or taurine current observed immediately preceding ethanol coapplication. Data are shown as mean ± S.E.M. of four to five oocytes.