Neuronal sodium channels in ventricular heart cells are localized near T-tubules openings

Hervé Duclohier1

  • 1Institut de Physiologie et Biologie Cellulaires (PBS), UMR 6187 CNRS-Université de Poitiers, France. Herve.Duclohier@univ-poitiers.fr

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Voltage-gated Ion Channels

Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that open and close in response to changes in the membrane potential. They are present on the membranes of all electrically excitable cells such as neurons, heart, and muscle cells.
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The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation

A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron integrates all these signals and determines the likelihood of firing an action potential.
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential.
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Electrical Synapses

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