Calcium ions are vital in the activation of contraction in muscle.
My research has been and will be focused on understanding the mechanisms that lead to the release of calcium ions from the internal stores in skeletal muscle. When a muscle fiber is stimulated, some electrical currents can be detected in the outer membranes and are believed to be due to the movement of some voltage sensors. This current triggers the release of calcium ions. I have been studying this triggering current with electrophysiological technique and the associated calcium release signal with optical technique. I found that the triggering current is actually multi-component.