LAUSR

The Na+ leak‐current channel (NALCN) regulates locomotion, respiration, and intellectual development. Previous work highlighted striking similarities between characteristic movement phenotypes of NALCN‐deficient animals (Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans) and the major symptoms of Parkinson's disease and primary progressive freezing gait. We have discovered novel physiological connections between the NALCN, K+ channels, and gap junctions that mediate regulation of locomotion in C. elegans. Drugs that block K+ channels and gap junctions or that activate Ca++ channels significantly improve movement of NALCN‐deficient animals. Loss‐of‐function of the NALCN creates an imbalance in ions, including K+ and Ca++, that interferes with normal cycles of depolarization–repolarization. This work suggests new therapeutic strategies for certain human movement disorders. J. Comp. Neurol. 525:1109–1121, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.