The human voltage-gated potassium (KV) channel KV3.1 gene maps to chromosome 11p15 and encodes a protein that resembles Drosophila Shaw subfamily channel types. KV channels regulate neurotransmitter release, heart rate, insulin secretion, neuronal excitability, epithelial electrolyte transport, smooth muscle contraction, and cell volume. KV channels are multimers that contain channel activity-dependent alpha subunits and modulatory gamma subunits. Neuronal populations in the CNS coexpressing KV3.1 and KV3.3 influence fast repolarization of action potentials and enable neurons to fire repetitively at high frequencies. KV3 genes produce multiple splice variants in the 3' ends of respective transcript, which may influence normal spatial ion permeability of excitable membranes in the brain.