Physiological and Pharmacological Insights into the Role of Ionic Channels in Cardiac Pacemaker Activity

The generation of cardiac pacemaker activity is a complex phenomenon which requires the coordinated activity of different membrane ionic channels, as well as intracellular signalling factors including Ca2+ and second messengers. The precise mechanism initiating automaticity in primary pacemaker cells is still matter of debate and certain aspects of how channels cooperate in the regulation of pacemaking by the autonomic nervous system have not...