The voltage-gated channels of Ca 2+ action potentials: Generalization

In some neuronal dendrites and some endocrine cells, action potentials have a small amplitude and a long duration: these are the Ca 2+ -dependent action potentials. All action potentials are initiated in response to a membrane depolarization. Na + , Na + /Ca 2+ and Ca 2+ -dependent action potentials differ in the type of voltage-gated channels responsible for their depolarization and repolarization phases. In this chapter we will examine the properties of a Ca 2+ -dependent action potential.