Pan Luo and Lianjun Guo
Hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated channels are concentrated in cortical and hippocampal
pyramidal cell dendrites, where they play an important role in determining synaptic integration and plasticity
phenomena. These channels have been suggested to be involved in physiological processes such as cognition as
well as pathophysiological states such as epilepsy, pain, Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).
Recent evidences from our own researches have suggested that the learning and memory impairments caused by
chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) are associated with a change of HCN1/HCN2 expression; therefore these
channels may also be therapeutic targets for treatment of vascular dementia.