Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

The Na+ channel conundrum: axon structure versus function

Nature Neuroscience volume 13, pages 784–785 (2010)Cite this article

Subjects

High Na+ channel density is thought to underlie the axon initial segment's (AIS's) low action potential initiation threshold, but a new study estimates functional Na+ channel density in the AIS is only threefold higher than in the soma.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Schematic diagram for the dilemma between structural and functional evidence for the density of sodium channels (gray, red) in the AIS.

References

  1. Coombs, J.S., Curtis, D.R. & Eccles, J.C. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 139, 232–249 (1957).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Dodge, F.A. & Cooley, J.W. IBM J. Res. Dev. 17, 219–229 (1973).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Mainen, Z.F., Joerges, J., Huguenard, J.R. & Sejnowski, T.J. Neuron 15, 1427–1439 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Stuart, G., Schiller, J. & Sakmann, B. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 505, 617–632 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bean, B.P. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 8, 451–465 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Fleidervish, I.A., Lasser-Ross, N., Gutnick, M.J. & Ross, W.N. Nat. Neurosci. 13, 852–860 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Lorincz, A. & Nusser, Z. Science 328, 906–909 (2010).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kole, M.H. et al. Nat. Neurosci. 11, 178–186 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Colbert, C.M. & Johnston, D. J. Neurosci. 16, 6676–6686 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Alzheimer, C., Schwindt, P.C. & Crill, W.E. J. Neurosci. 13, 660–673 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Stuart, G. & Sakmann, B. Neuron 15, 1065–1076 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Colbert, C.M. & Pan, E. Nat. Neurosci. 5, 533–538 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Osorio, N. et al. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 588, 651–670 (2010).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The author is in the Center for Learning and Memory, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.,

    Daniel Johnston

Authors
  1. Daniel Johnston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Johnston.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Johnston, D. The Na+ channel conundrum: axon structure versus function. Nat Neurosci 13, 784–785 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0710-784

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0710-784

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing