KCNQ genes encode family members of the Kv7 potassium channel family. These include K<sub>v</sub>7.1 (KCNQ1) - KvLQT1, K<sub>v</sub>7.2 (KCNQ2), K<sub>v</sub>7.3 (KCNQ3), K<sub>v</sub>7.4 (KCNQ4), and K<sub>v</sub>7.5 (KCNQ5). Four of these (KCNQ2-5) are expressed in the nervous system. They constitute a group of low-threshold voltage-gated K<sup>+</sup> channels originally termed the âÂÂM-channelâ (see M-current). The M-channel name comes from the classically described mechanism wherein the activation of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor deactivated this channel.