Electrical Coupling and Neuronal Synchronization in the Mammalian Brain

Certain neurons in the mammalian brain have long been known to be joined by gap junctions, which are the most common type of electrical synapse. More recently, cloning of neuron-specific connexins, increased capability of visualizing cells within brain tissue, labeling of cell types by transgenic me...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuron 2004-02, Vol.41 (4), p.495-511
Main Authors: Bennett, Michael V.L, Zukin, R.Suzanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Potentials - physiology
Animals
Brain - cytology
Brain - physiology
Cell Communication - physiology
Connexins - metabolism
Cortical Synchronization
firing pattern
Gap Junctions - physiology
Genomes
Humans
Mammalia
Mammals
Membranes
Nerve Net - physiology
Neural Pathways - physiology
Neurons - physiology
Synaptic Transmission - physiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Certain neurons in the mammalian brain have long been known to be joined by gap junctions, which are the most common type of electrical synapse. More recently, cloning of neuron-specific connexins, increased capability of visualizing cells within brain tissue, labeling of cell types by transgenic methods, and generation of connexin knockouts have spurred a rapid increase in our knowledge of the role of gap junctions in neural activity. This article reviews the many subtleties of transmission mediated by gap junctions and the mechanisms whereby these junctions contribute to synchronous firing.
ISSN:0896-6273
1097-4199
DOI:10.1016/S0896-6273(04)00043-1