Abstract

It was recently discovered that two different types of voltage-insensitive K⁺ channels, G protein-coupled inwardly rectifying K⁺ (GIRK) and small-conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ (SK) channels, are located on dendritic branches, spines and shafts in the postsynaptic densities of excitatory synapses in many central neurons. Together with increases in our knowledge of how these channels are regulated through stable protein–protein interactions in multi-protein complexes, this has added another layer of complexity to our understanding of synaptic transmission and plasticity.

Author affiliations

1. Rafael Luján is at the Departamento de Ciencias Médicas, Facultad de Medicina & Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Biosanitario, C/ Almansa 14, 02006 Albacete, Spain.
2. James Maylie is at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and John P. Adelman is at the Vollum Institute, of the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239, USA.

Correspondence to: Rafael Luján¹ Email: Rafael.Lujan@uclm.es

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