Action potential generation articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  12 December 2022 | Open Access

  Tagging active neurons by soma-targeted Cal-Light

  Techniques for tagging active neurons with high spatiotemporal precision are limited. Here the authors report soma-targeted CalLight (ST-Cal-Light) which selectively converts somatic calcium rise triggered by action potentials into gene expression, and generate a conditional ST-Cal-Light knock-in mouse.

  • Jung Ho Hyun
  • , Kenichiro Nagahama
  •  & Hyung-Bae Kwon

• Comment
  15 July 2022 | Open Access

  Timing is everything: structural insights into the disease-linked Kv3 channels controlling fast action-potential firing in the brain

  Kv3 channels enable neurons to fire at very high frequencies (>100 Hz) which is fundamental to brain development and our ability to make sense of the world at large. Cryo-EM and structure-function studies by Chi et al. now uncover Kv3 channel gating mechanisms and support new precision medicine approaches for CNS diseases.

  • Martin J. Gunthorpe

• Article
  19 May 2022 | Open Access

  C. elegans enteric motor neurons fire synchronized action potentials underlying the defecation motor program

  Most neurons in the nematode C. elegans communicate in an analog manner. Here, the authors demonstrate that enteric motor neurons can fire all-or-none action potentials, and that this digital communication is important for defecation.

  • Jingyuan Jiang
  • , Yifan Su
  •  & Qiang Liu

• Article
  05 July 2021 | Open Access

  Purkinje cell axonal swellings enhance action potential fidelity and cerebellar function

  Axonal swellings have been found on Purkinje cell axons in the cerebellum both during development and disease. The authors show that axons with swellings propagate action potentials with higher fidelity than those without and that mice with more axonal swellings learn cerebellar-related tasks better.

  • Daneck Lang-Ouellette
  • , Kim M. Gruver
  •  & Alanna J. Watt

• Article
  23 October 2018 | Open Access

  A microfabricated nerve-on-a-chip platform for rapid assessment of neural conduction in explanted peripheral nerve fibers

  Peripheral nerves have a complex physiology and it is therefore difficult to measure axonal activity in vitro. Here the authors make a nerve-on-a-chip platform to align peripheral nerves and permit measurement of conduction amplitude and velocity along several axons in a single experiment.

  • Sandra Gribi
  • , Sophie du Bois de Dunilac
  •  & Stéphanie P. Lacour

• Article
  26 September 2016 | Open Access

  FHF-independent conduction of action potentials along the leak-resistant cerebellar granule cell axon

  FHFs are known to regulate voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs). Here, the authors compare the role of FHFs in cerebellar granule cell propagation, and find NaVs in the distal axon function independently of FHFs, allowing for faster inactivation rates and reducing energy demands during repetitive spiking.

  • Katarzyna Dover
  • , Christopher Marra
  •  & Mitchell Goldfarb

• Article
  06 July 2016 | Open Access

  Action potential broadening in a presynaptic channelopathy

  Episodic ataxia type 1 is caused by mutations in the potassium channel Kv1.1, which is found in cerebellar basket cells. Here, the authors use electrophysiology techniques to characterize these mutant channels, and observe that the changes result in decreased spontaneous Purkinje cell firing with no evidence for developmental compensation.

  • Rahima Begum
  • , Yamina Bakiri
  •  & Dimitri M. Kullmann

• Article
  17 December 2015 | Open Access

  K_v3.1 uses a timely resurgent K⁺ current to secure action potential repolarization

  K_v3 potassium channels have an important role in the repolarization of action potentials in fast-spiking neurons. Here, the authors use electrophysiology and modelling to report on an interesting mechanism that might explain their gating behaviour.

  • Alain J. Labro
  • , Michael F. Priest
  •  & Francisco Bezanilla

• Article
  10 December 2015 | Open Access

  Presynaptic hyperpolarization induces a fast analogue modulation of spike-evoked transmission mediated by axonal sodium channels

  'Digital' spike-evoked transmission can be facilitated by slow subthreshold 'analogue' depolarisation of the presynaptic neuron. Here, the authors identify a novel, rapid form of digital-analogue facilitation in mammalian neurons whereby presynaptic hyperpolarisation enables de-inactivation of axonal Nav channels.

  • Sylvain Rama
  • , Mickaël Zbili
  •  & Dominique Debanne

• Article
  25 August 2015 | Open Access

  Tuning of Ranvier node and internode properties in myelinated axons to adjust action potential timing

  Action potential timing is fundamental to information processing, but its determinants are not fully understood. Here the authors demonstrate unexpected structural specializations of myelinated axons in the auditory brainstem that help to adjust action potential arrival time for sound localization.

  • Marc C. Ford
  • , Olga Alexandrova
  •  & Benedikt Grothe

• Article
  01 July 2015 | Open Access

  Action plan co-optimization reveals the parallel encoding of competing reach movements

  Several prominent cognitive theories propose that in situations affording more than one action strategy, the brain prepares multiple competing movements prior to selecting one. Here the authors provide direct experimental evidence for this provocative but largely untested notion.

  • Jason P. Gallivan
  • , Kathryn S. Barton
  •  & J. Randall Flanagan

• Article | 20 November 2014

  Vesicles derived via AP-3-dependent recycling contribute to asynchronous release and influence information transfer

  Neurotransmitter release involves a fast synchronous component and a slower asynchronous phase, which is poorly understood. Evstratova et al.show that asynchronous release increases the precision of postsynaptic action potential firing in an activity-dependent manner, which is dependent on adaptor protein 3.

  • Alesya Evstratova
  • , Simon Chamberland
  •  & Katalin Tóth

• Article
  14 November 2014 | Open Access

  Real-time estimation and biofeedback of single-neuron firing rates using local field potentials

  The use of local field potential (LFP) brain signals may allow development of more efficient and robust neural prosthetic devices. Here, Hall et al. develop a method for estimation and biofeedback control of single-neuron firing rates using signals extracted from multiple low-frequency LFPs.

  • Thomas M. Hall
  • , Kianoush Nazarpour
  •  & Andrew Jackson

• Article
  23 May 2014 | Open Access

  Neuronal adaptation involves rapid expansion of the action potential initiation site

  Neuronal adaptation to repetitive stimuli is required for the correct functioning of neuronal networks. Here, the authors show that rapid expansion of the axonal spike-initiation site accompanied by local spike deceleration is the cell adaptation mechanism that responds to repetitive excitatory inputs.

  • Ricardo S. Scott
  • , Christian Henneberger
  •  & Dmitri A. Rusakov

• Article | 28 May 2013

  Postsynaptic current bursts instruct action potential firing at a graded synapse

  Caenorhabditis elegans studies using artificial stimulation suggest that synaptic transmission involves graded action potential generation. Liu et al. study synaptic transmission that occurs spontaneously and find that cholinergic postsynaptic currents occur in bursts to facilitate action potential firing.

  • Ping Liu
  • , Bojun Chen
  •  & Zhao-Wen Wang