The quest for action potentials in C. elegans neurons hits a plateau.

The small size and high resistance of C. elegans neurons makes them sensitive to the random opening of single ion channels, probably rendering codes that are based on classical, all-or-none action potentials unworkable. The recent discovery in C. elegans of a special class of regenerative events known as plateau potentials introduces the possibility of digital neural codes. Such codes would solve the problem of representing information in nervous systems in which action potentials are unreliable.