Voltage-dependent dye coupling at a rectifying electrotonic synapse of the crayfish.

At the crayfish giant motor synapse, the lateral giant axon (l.g.a.) and the giant motor fibre (g.m.f.) form an electrotonic junction which exhibits two states of ionic coupling (Furshpan & Potter, 1959a; Giaume & Korn, 1983). Junctional conductance is low at resting membrane potentials (i.e. with lateral axon more negative than the motor fibre) and high when the polarity of the voltage difference (delta V) across the synapse is reversed. For these two states of conductance, junctional permeability was investigated using the intercellular tracer Lucifer Yellow. The dye was ionophoretically injected into either the presynaptic (l.g.a.) or the post-synaptic (g.m.f.) cell. In the high conductance state (delta V greater than 0), fluorescence was detected in both neurones whether Lucifer Yellow had been injected pre- or post-synaptically. By contrast, at the resting junctional polarization (delta V less than 0) Lucifer Yellow spread from the giant axon to the g.m.f., but not from the g.m.f. to the giant axons. These data demonstrate that dye transfer at the giant motor synapse, like ionic coupling, is sensitive to junctional polarization and is more marked in the high conductance state. Possible explanations for the asymmetry observed in the low conductance state are discussed.