Adenosine and dopamine oppositely modulate a hyperpolarization‐activated current Ih in chemosensory neurons of the rat carotid body in co‐culture

KEY POINTS: Adenosine and dopamine (DA) are neuromodulators in the carotid body (CB) chemoafferent pathway, but their mechanisms of action are incompletely understood. Using functional co-cultures of rat CB chemoreceptor (type I) cells and sensory petrosal neurons (PNs), we show that adenosine enhanced a hyperpolarization-activated cation current I_h in chemosensory PNs via A2a receptors, whereas DA had the opposite effect via D2 receptors. …