The importance of Ca2+ -dependent mechanisms for the initiation of the heartbeat

The importance of Ca<sup>2+</sup> -dependent mechanisms for the initiation of the heartbeat
Rebecca A. Capel and Derek A. Terrar*
British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

 

Mechanisms underlying pacemaker activity in the sinus node remain controversial, with some ascribing a dominant role to timing events in the surface membrane (“membrane clock”) and others to uptake and release of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) (“calcium clock”)