Habituation in the single cell: diminished secretion of norepinephrine with repetitive depolarization of PC12 cells.

Neuronally differentiated PC12 cells secrete decreasing amounts of [3H]norepinephrine when repetitively stimulated by depolarizing concentrations of potassium ion. The decreasing response shows attributes that have been classically ascribed to response habituation, a behavior commonly observed in nervous systems but found here in a homogeneous cell type. Alteration of the habituation pattern was caused by activators of the protein kinase C pathway and of voltage-gated calcium channels.