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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 May 25.
Published in final edited form as: Neuroscientist. 2013 Nov 25;20(3):272–290. doi: 10.1177/1073858413510044

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Gap junctions and chloride homeostasis. (A) Aligned connexin hemichannels (blue) in adjacent plasma membranes provide a direct pathway for small ions and signaling molecules between neurons. (B) Na+ and K+ concentration gradients established by the Na+/K+ ATPase (Na/K ATPase, orange) provide the energy for the two transport systems that control neuronal [Cl−]i. Na+-K+-2Cl- cotransporters (NKCCs, blue) import Cl−, whereas K+-Cl− cotransporters (KCCs, red) export Cl−. Cl− flows through GABA and glycine receptors (GABAR and GlyR, green) down its electrochemical gradient. Cl− efflux depolarizes and Cl− influx hyperpolarizes a neuron.