Introduction to Membrane Potentials
1.Describe the neuron function. Neurons act to facilitate the transfer of data amongst the body’s cells sustaining homeostasis
2.Contrast graded potentials and action potentials. Graded potentials are electrical signals that have variable amplitude, are localized, and travel short distances along the membrane. In contrast, an action potential has a fixed amplitude, and can travel greater distances along the membrane.
3.a. Describe how there can be an electrical change on either side of a membrane thereby generating a membrane potential. The membrane potential is due to the presence of an ionic concentration difference and electrical gradient between both sides of the membrane.movement of charged molecules across the cellular membrane leads to the creation of electrical signals.
b. What two characteristics must a membrane possess in order to generate and maintain electrical signals critical to nervous tissue? The two traits required for electrical signal generation and maintenance is the presence of a resting membrane potentials and ionic pumps that maintain ionic concentration and electrical gradients between the two sides of the membrane.
Membrane Transport Proteins
4.What three membrane proteins are required if a membrane is to carry electrical impulses? These proteins are pores, gated channels, and ion pumps.
The Essay on How Is a Cell’s Membrane Suited to Its Functions?
Each phospholipid is composed of a non-polar (hydrophobic) region of two fatty acids pointing inwards and a polar (hydrophilic) phosphorylated alcohol head region pointing outwards on the exterior of the membrane. Connecting the phosphorylated alcohol and both fatty acids is a 3-carbon compound called glycerol. Since there is both a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic region of each phospholipid, then ...
5.Describe the activity of sodium and potassium ion channels.
Pores are ion-specific and provide free access to their respective ions across the plasma membrane. Ions move through these pathways via diffusion – down their concentration gradient.
6.How do the following differentially affect gated channels?
Chemicals (ligands)
Voltage changes
Mechanical deformation
Gated channels, like the open-access pores, are ion-specific. These gated passages are dependent on particular membrane-affecting agents to either open or close the gate. These may be distinct chemicals referred to as ligands. Voltage changes to the potential across the membrane also can alter these gates. An alteration in the physical structure of the gate that leads to its mechanical deformation can also act on opening and closing of these gates. 7.Where are each of the following types of gated channels located AND what type of function do they serve?
Ligand gated – these are found at the cell dendrites and bodies. Hormones and neurotansmitters modify these channels for normal cell maintenance.
Voltage gated – these are seen on the axon of neurons and are utilized for the generation of action potentials.
Mechanically gated – these are discovered on the dendrites of sensory neurons and are also seen in sensory receptor cells. Their opening and closing are dependent upon the distension of the cell membrane from vibrations or pressure.
8.a. Describe the function of the Sodium/Potassium pump. Its primary purpose is to actively move 3 – Na+ ions extracellularly while transporting 2 – K+ into the cell.
b. How does the sodium/potassium pump action maintain the membrane potential? Through its active transport of Na+ ions out and K+ into the cell, these pumps counteract the ionic flow of both these ions via the pores and gated channels which degrade the concentration differences of the ions on both sides of the membrane.
Resting Membrane Potentials
9.Describe the positive and negative charges on either side of a membrane at resting potential. Membrane surfaces are charged due to the accumulation of positive and negative ions on both sides of the membrane. At rest, the inner surface of the membrane is relatively more negative than the outer surface of the membrane resulting in a potential difference
The Essay on A selectively membrane means that the cell membrane can only control over certain things
Osmosis is the diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane. A selectively membrane means that the cell membrane can only control over certain things that come in and out through the membrane. A membrane is just the structure surrounding the cell. Throughout osmosis, the cell could either get larger, or smaller. If the cell gets larger it means that it was put into a hypotonic ...
10.a. The opposite “poles” of a battery are positively and negatively charged. Explain why polarized is a good term to describe a membrane with a resting potential. Polarized is a good term to discrube the membrane beacause the overall charge on the outer surface is more positive relative to the inner surface which is negative.
b.Where, exactly, do the opposing charges exist? What is the charge of the cytosol and the extracellular fluid? These charges exist on the inner and outer surfaces of the membrane. In comparison, the cytosol and extracellular fluids are electrically inert.
c.What is the typical resting potential for a membrane? That is usually negative 70 millivolts.
11.Describe how the following contribute to the unequal distribution of ions and charges thereby establishing a resting membrane potential.
K+ permeability – Due to higher availability of K+ pores in the membrane, these leads to K+ ‘s increased permeability through the cell allowing more K+ to leave the cell versus the number of Na+ entering the cell. This causes the interior of cell to be slightly more negative relative to the outside layer of the cell, thus producing the resting membrane potential.
Na+/K+ Pump Activity – The activity of this pump is to counteract the natural flow of Na+ entering the cell and the K+ exiting the cell by removing 3 – Na+ ions out of the cell for every 2 – K+ ions into the cell thereby preserving the resting membrane potential.
Graded Potentials
12.Define a graded potential. This is a change in the resting membrane potential value. This event happens when a gated channel shuts or opens and a corresponding change occurs in the ion flow across the membrane.
13.How does opening a gated ion channel affect resting membrane potential?
When opening a gated channel, ions flow through the membrane, which in turn, causes a change in voltage across the membrane. This ultimately affects the membrane potential.
The Term Paper on Action Potential Membrane Nerve Sodium
WHEN the commonplaces of one discipline are applied to an unrelated field, they can prove curiously fruitful. In 1952 two British physiologists, Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley, managed just such a fruitful crossover, applying textbook physics to living tissue. They were both later knighted, and shared a Nobel prize in 1963. The experimental method they pioneered remains fundamental to research ...
14.Correlate the name “graded potential” to the affect of stimulus intensity. The intensity of a stimulus governs the number of gated channels that open or close.
15.Describe two types of graded potential change. hyperpolarization – This is an increase in polarity due to a downturn of the number of potassium ions inside the cell. This decrease causes the inside to be more negative relative to the outside. depolarization – This is a decrease in polarity that is generated by the addition of sodium inside the cell. This extra number of sodium ions intracellularly makes the inside less negative relative to the outside layer.
16. What is the role of graded potentials? Graded potentials are important because they either bring the membrane potential closer to threshold where an action potential can be generated, or further away from threshold thus making the generation of an action potential more difficult
Action Potentials
17.What is the function of a neuron’s trigger zone? The neuron ‘s trigger zone produes the action potentil
18.a.Why are Na+ and K+ gated channels essential for an action potential? The Na+ gated channels must be opened for the membrane potential to depolarize to threshold and generate an action potential. The K+ gated channels is required to be open to return the membrane potential back to the resting membrane potential.
b.Describe the electrical change during an action potential. During an action potential, the membrane potential rapidly depolarizes and reverses such that the inner membrane surface is more positive relative to the outer membrane surface. The membrane potential then repolarizes back to resting membrane potential.
19.a.What is the condition of the Na+ gated channels at resting potential? Gates are closed.
b.Explain the importance of stimulus strength. The stimulus strength is critical because it will govern if an action potential will occur or not.
c.What effect does hyperpolarization or depolarization less than -55 mV have on Na+ gated channels? The voltage regulated Na+ channels do not open and an action potential is not generated
The Essay on Action potential
... EPP had achieved certain membrane potential, the voltage-gated sodium channel open and cause the flow of Na+ into the cell. Muscle action potential is generated. Generation ... re-establishes the normal negative resting membrane potential. The repolarization stage is when the voltage-gated K channel open. Potassium ion move out from the ...
d.Explain why an action potential is sometimes referred to as an “all or nothing” response. All or nothing response of an action potential (AP), refers simply to the fact that an AP will either occur, or not. There is no gradient, no half APs or double APs. The only option is AP, or no AP. Like in computer binary, the response is either 1 (an AP) or 0 (no AP).
All the factors trying to induce (or inhibit) an action potential (i.e other action potentials, EPSPs and IPSPs) add up (summate) at the axon hillock, (aka the trigger zone).
Here, if the stimulation is big enough an action potential will occur. If the stimulation is not big enough, no action potential occurs.
e.Reversal of the membrane charge closes the Na+ gates and opens the K+ gates. How does this affect the depolarization? Include the role of the Na+/ K+ pump in your response.
When the sodium gates shut and the potassium gates open, the membrane begins to return to its resting potential. This process of repolarization is finally completed when the sodium/potassium pump actively moves 3 – Na+ ions out of the cell for every 2 – K+ ions into the cell. 20.Describe the refractory period.
Refractory period is a period of time during which an organ or cell is incapable of repeating a particular action, or (more precisely) the amount of time it takes for an excitable membrane to be ready for a second stimulus once it returns to its resting state following an excitation. It most commonly refers to electrically excitable muscle cells or neurons. Absolute refractory period corresponds to depolarisation and repolarisation, whereas relative refractory period corresponds to hyperpolarisation.
