Action Potentials and Membrane Potentials

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to action potentials and membrane potentials in neurons.

Resting Membrane Potential

The difference in charge across the plasma membrane when the neuron is not sending an action potential, typically at -70 millivolts.

Threshold

The membrane potential value (-55 mV) that must be reached for an action potential to be generated.

Voltage Gated Channels

Channels that open or close in response to changes in membrane potential.

Depolarizing Phase

The phase of an action potential where the membrane potential becomes less negative, moving towards zero and eventually becoming positive.

Membrane Permeability

The leakiness of the membrane to specific ions, such as sodium or potassium.

Repolarizing Phase

The phase of an action potential where the membrane potential returns to its resting value, becoming more negative again.

Hyperpolarizing Phase

The phase after repolarization where the membrane potential briefly becomes more negative than the resting membrane potential.

Sodium Potassium ATP Pump

A protein that actively transports sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell, restoring the ion gradients after an action potential.

Ions

Charged particles that move across the neuron's membrane to generate electrical currents during an action potential.