Undercover Power of Endocannabinoids: Postsynaptic Ion-Channel Modulator

In this issue of Neuron, Gantz and Bean (2017) show that the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) can directly alter the properties of native ion-channel Kv4.3 and accelerate the pacemaker activity of rodent dopamine neurons. These findings are one of the first demonstrations of postsynaptic, cell-autonomous actions of endocannabinoids in the mammalian brain.