Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Neuroscience Rhanor Gillette and colleagues have published a paper in the Journal of Neurophysiology: "Nitric oxide potentiates cAMP-gated cation current by intracellular acidification in feeding neurons of Pleurobranchaea."

According to Professor Gillette, in the paper "we show that in neurons of the mollusc Pleurobranchaea, the intracellular messenger nitric oxide causes marked intracellular acidification. This is a novel mechanism of NO effect, hitherto undescribed. We show that it has the physiologically significant effect of potentiating a pH-sensitive cAMP-gated cation current that we previously described in the neurons of Pleurobranchaea's feeding motor network. Thus, this mechanism may be important in this system in setting the excitation level of the feeding motor network and thereby influencing the animal's appetitive state.