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Blessed are the pacemakers

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Many neurons, particularly inhibitory neurons in motor areas, express ion channels that cause them to fire rapidly and regularly without input. A paper now presents evidence that an inherited ataxia due to mutation in a P/Q-type calcium channel gene results from compromised pacemaking in cerebellar Purkinje neurons, suggesting a possible therapy.

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Figure 1: Pacemaking in Purkinje neurons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology,

    Thomas S Otis & Joanna C Jen

  2. Department of Neurology, Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Thomas S Otis & Joanna C Jen

Authors
  1. Thomas S Otis
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  2. Joanna C Jen
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Otis, T., Jen, J. Blessed are the pacemakers. Nat Neurosci 9, 297–298 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0306-297

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