Axonal gap junctions send ripples through the hippocampus.
In a paper by Schmitz and colleagues in this issue of Neuron, new evidence for the existence of gap junctions between pyramidal cell axons uncovers a mechanism for fast neural communication in the hippocampus. Electrical coupling between axons may be crucial during fast oscillations, which have been proposed to mediate memory consolidation.
Spruston
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Department of Neurobiology and Physiology, Institute for Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D017629:Gap Junctions / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure