Phosphoinositides comprise a diverse array of plasma membrane signaling molecules with temporal effects ranging from 1 ms to the lifetime of the organism. Most intensively studied are the polyphosphorylated phosphatidylinositols (PIs). 2 The species phosphorylated at the 4Ј-and 5Ј-positions of the inositol ring by PI 4-kinase and PI 4-phosphate (PI(4)P) 5-kinase, called PI 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ), have been implicated as a critical player in myriad cellular activities. These include cytoskeletal remodeling, vesicular/protein trafficking among intracellular membranes, transcriptional control, and regulation of ion channels and transporters. Regarding the latter role, a large and widening array of such membrane transport proteins have been shown to be regulated by plasma membrane PIP 2 , presumably due to direct binding (1, 2). The action is thought to arise from either PIP 2 depletion by stimulation of phospholipase C (PLC)-coupled receptors or from alterations in the affinity of PIP 2 for the channels caused by generation of other signaling molecules (3). Using sympathetic neurons of the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) as a model, we have focused on PIP 2 -mediated regulation of voltage-gated "M-type" (KCNQ) K ϩ and "N-type" Ca 2ϩ currents. The former is so named for its depression by muscarinic stimulation, whose mechanism has been established as being due to depletion of PIP 2 (4 -9). The latter is also PIP 2 -sensitive (10 -12) as well as sensitive to arachidonic acid (13), and stimulation of PLC-linked muscarinic receptors likewise depresses I Ca in the same neurons (10,14). However, stimulation of other PLC-linked receptors (bradykinin B 2 and purinergic P2Y) in those neurons does not deplete PIP 2 and displays a pattern of M-current depression via intracellular Ca 2ϩ (Ca 2ϩ i ) signals (15, 16), acting on KCNQ channels via calmodulin (CaM) (17, 18), and little action on the N-type I Ca (10, 14) (although many Ca V channels are modulated by CaM, the N-type channels are probably insensitive to [Ca 2ϩ ] i rises in the range (Ͻ2 M) reachable by release from stores).This receptor specificity parallels stark receptor specificity in the induction of IP 3 -mediated [Ca 2ϩ