The Cav3.2 T‐type calcium channel regulates temporal coding in mouse mechanoreceptors

Non-technical summary  Highly sensitive mechanoreceptors in the skin are responsible for our ability to discriminate fine textures. One feature of skin mechanoreceptors in mammals is their high sensitivity and speed. We show here that an ion channel that passes calcium ions following very small membrane depolarization caused by tactile stimuli acts as an amplifier increasing mechanoreceptor sensitivity. We also show that this calcium ion channel, called Cav3.2, only amplifies mechanosensory signals in a subset of touch receptors which happen to be several-fold more sensitive than other specialized mechanoreceptors. Thus, the expression of one specific calcium channel serves especially to increase the speed of tactile encoding. The special sensitivity and high speed of these touch receptors may enable animals and humans to react very rapidly to tactile stimuli that guide movement.