Potassium channels play an important role regulating transmembrane electrical activity in essentially all cell types. We were especially interested in those that determine the intrinsic electrical properties of mammalian central neurons. Over 30 different potassium channels have been molecularly identified in brain neurons, but there often is not a clear distinction between molecular structure and the function of a particular channel in the cell. Using patch-clamp methods to search for single potassium channels in excised inside-out (ISO) somatic patches with symmetrical potassium, we found that nearly all patches contained non-voltage-inactivating channels with a single-channel conductance of 100-200 pS. This conductance range is consistent with the family of sodium-activated potassium channels (Slo2.1, Slo2.2 or collectively, KNa). The activity of these channels was positively correlated with a low cytoplasmic Na+ concentration (2-20 mM). Cell-attached recordings from intact neurons, however, showed little or no activity of this K+ channel. Attempts to increase channel activity by increasing [Na+]i with bursts of action potentials or direct perfusion of Na+ through a whole-cell pipette had little effect on KNa channel activity. Furthermore, excised outside-out patches across a range of intracellular [Na+] showed less channel activity than we had seen with excised ISO patches. Blocking the Na+/K+ pump with ouabain increased the activity of the KNa channels in excised OSO patches to levels comparable to ISO excised patches. Our results suggest that despite their apparent high levels of expression the activity of somatic KNa channels is tightly regulated by the activity of the Na+/K+ pump.