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HCN4 is the main isoform expressed in the sinoatrial node, but low levels of HCN1 and HCN2 have also been reported.The current through HCN channels, called the pacemaker current (I f), plays a key role in the generation and modulation of cardiac rhythmicity, [13] as they are responsible for the spontaneous depolarization in pacemaker action potentials in the heart.
The currents flowing in due to an action potential spread out in both directions along the axon. [52] However, only the unfired part of the axon can respond with an action potential; the part that has just fired is unresponsive until the action potential is safely out of range and cannot restimulate that part.
In the heart's conduction system electrical activity that originates from the sinoatrial node (SAN) is propagated via the His-Purkinje network, the fastest conduction pathway within the heart. The electrical signal travels from the sinoatrial node, which stimulates the atria to contract, to the atrioventricular node (AVN), which slows down ...
For example, a doctor may insert a catheter containing an electrode into the heart to record the heart muscle's electrical activity. Another example of clinical electrophysiology is clinical neurophysiology. In this medical specialty, doctors measure the electrical properties of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
It employs pacemaker cells that produce electrical impulses, known as cardiac action potentials, which control the rate of contraction of the cardiac muscle, that is, the heart rate. In most humans, these cells are concentrated in the sinoatrial (SA) node, the primary pacemaker, which regulates the heart’s sinus rhythm.
An electrical synapse, or gap junction, is a mechanical and electrically conductive synapse, a functional junction between two neighboring neurons. The synapse is formed at a narrow gap between the pre- and postsynaptic neurons known as a gap junction .
The cardiac pacemaker is the heart's natural rhythm generator. It employs pacemaker cells that generate electrical impulses, known as cardiac action potentials.These potentials cause the cardiac muscle to contract, and the rate of which these muscles contract determines the heart rate.
These cells produce an electrical impulse known as a cardiac action potential that travels through the electrical conduction system of the heart, causing it to contract. In a healthy heart, the SA node continuously produces action potentials, setting the rhythm of the heart (sinus rhythm), and so is known as the heart's natural pacemaker.