Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Establishing a Mouse Model of a Pure Small Fiber Neuropathy with the Ultrapotent Agonist of Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Type 1
Published on: February 13, 2018
The role of peripheral T-type calcium channels in pain transmission
Vesna Jevtovic-Todorovic1, Slobodan M Todorovic
1Department of Anesthesiology and Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0710, USA. vj3w@virginia.edu
Abstract:
Some of the earliest detailed descriptions of biophysical properties of low voltage-activated (LVA) or transient (T) type Ca2+ channels were done using in vitro preparation of primary sensory or dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons that are known for their functional role in processing pain signals. However, in spite of these early discoveries, T-type channels were not implicated in sensory transmission in general and pain processing (nociception) in particular until recently. New evidence obtained using an array of techniques such as electrophysiological recordings, pharmacological behavioral experiments as well as molecular techniques strongly supports the role of peripheral T-type Ca2+ channels in boosting nociceptive transmission in a variety of experimental pain models. Therefore, these channels in peripheral sensory neurons may be the important, although previously unappreciated, targets for novel pain therapies. In this article, we review past, present and future findings aimed at illuminating the role of peripheral T-type Ca2+ channels in nociception and the value of these channels as cellular targets for potential drug developments.
Related Concept Videos
Mechanically-gated Ion Channels
Nociception
Pain
The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
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.
Analgesia and Pain Management
Thermosensation
