Breakdown of accommodation in nerve: a possible role for persistent sodium current

BACKGROUND: Accommodation and breakdown of accommodation are important elements of information processing in nerve fibers, as they determine how nerve fibers react to natural slowly changing stimuli or electrical stimulation. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the biophysical mechanism of breakdown of accommodation, which at present is unknown. RESULTS: A model of a space-clamped motor nerve fiber was developed. It was found that this new model could reproduce breakdown of accommodation when it included a low-threshold, rapidly activating, persistent sodium current. However, the phenomenon was not reproduced when the persistent sodium current did not have fast activation kinetics or a low activation threshold. CONCLUSION: The present modeling study suggests that persistent, low-threshold, rapidly activating sodium currents have a key role in breakdown of accommodation, and that breakdown of accommodation can be used as a tool for studying persistent sodium current under normal and pathological conditions

Why rapid integration policies for refugees may harm long-term integration into the labour market – especially for women

National governments typically implement a range of policies to help integrate refugees into the labour market. Drawing on a new study, Vilde Hernes, Jacob Arendt, Pernilla Joona Andersson and Kristian Rose Tronstad show that policies focused on rapid self-sufficiency for newly arrived refugees may hamper the development of stable labour-market integration in the long-term. This effect is particularly prominent in the case of women