Intrinsic properties of primary hippocampal neurons contribute to PIP depletion during nsEP-induced physiological response.

High-energy, short-duration electric pulses (EPs) are known to be effective in neuromodulation, but the biological mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. Recently, we discovered that nanosecond electric pulses (nsEPs) could initiate the phosphatidylinositol-bisphosphate (PIP) depletion in non-excitable cells identical to agonist-induced activation of the G coupled receptors. PIP is the precursor for multiple intracellular second messengers critically involved in the regulation of intracellular Ca homeostasis and plasma membrane (PM) ion channels responsible for the control of neuronal excitability.