Neuroscientists at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute find key channel in prominent inhibitory response of the brain

Calcium ion-gated slow after-hyperpolarization (sAHP) is one of the most prominent inhibitory responses in the brain, with sAHP amplitude linked to a host of circuit and behavioral functions, yet the channel that underlies the sAHP has defied identification for decades.

Recent work by a team led by Ray Turner from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary has determined that channels known as intermediate conductance calcium ion-activated potassium ion channels are a key determinant of the sAHP in specific cells of the hippocampus. Read this important paper in a recent issue of Cell Reports (open access):

King B, Rizwan AP, Asmara H, Heath NC, Engbers JD, Dykstra S, Bartoletti TM, Hameed S, Zamponi GW, Turner RW. IKCa Channels Are a Critical Determinant of the Slow AHP in CA1 Pyramidal Neurons. Cell Rep. 2015 Apr 7. pii: S2211-1247(15)00295-8. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.03.026. http://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(15)00295-8

The Hotchkiss Brain Institute also published a press release explaining the importance of this discovery: HBI researchers solve a 30-year-old mystery of neuronal regulation – Discovery may lead to advances in understanding age-related conditions and epilepsy
By Alexander Kim