Summary
Astrocyte potassium buffering through the inwardly rectifying potassium channel, Kir4.1, is a crucial and essential function. Changes in Kir4.1 have been implicated in epilepsy, seizures, and several neurodegenerative disorders. However, until recently it was thought that outside of pathological conditions K+e rises would be small and cleared slowly, with their effects on neurons unclear. We recently showed that presynaptic neuronal activity induces fast, large, and highly focal astrocyte depolarizations driven by localized increases in extracellular potassium (K+e) and blunted by Kir4.1 activ
