Fig. 3.

Ethanol reduces the single channel current amplitude in wild type but not mutant nAChRs. a Single channel currents elicited by 10 μM ACh, in the absence (upper traces) or presence (lower traces) of 200 mM ethanol at a membrane potential of −200 mV, are shown at a bandwidth of 10 kHz. b The mean current amplitude is plotted against membrane potential in the absence (red) or presence (blue) of 200 mM ethanol for the wild type (left) or mutant (right) nAChRs. Mean current amplitude was determined by analysis of all-points histograms (Methods) from 3 to 5 patches for each experimental condition. Unitary conductance determined (pS) from the slope of the current–voltage plots: wild type, 74.3 ± 1.4; wild type + 200 mM ethanol, 45.4 ± 1.8; αE83K, 59.5 ± 0.7; αE83K + 200 mM ethanol, 54.2 ± 0.2. c Shows the effect of different, physiologically relevant ethanol concentrations on the single channel current amplitude for wild type (red) or mutant (blue) nAChRs. Single channel currents elicited by 10 μM ACh were recorded at a membrane potential of −0 mV. Mean current amplitude was determined by fitting a Gaussian function to histograms of detected single channel openings from 3 to 5 patches for each experimental condition. Error bars indicate the SD