Studied by 6 people
action potential
What is a nerve impulse the same thing as?
membrane potential, specific ion channels
What does the production of nerve impulses depend on?
the separation of ions across the membrane leading to an electrical voltage difference
What is membrane potential?
move down their concentration gradient
What will ions do when ion channels are open?
charge, + towards - and vice versa
What do ions move down this concentration gradient according to? What does that mean?
gates, they open and close in response to a stimulus
What do ion channels act as? What does that mean about their functionality?
leakage channels, voltage gated channels, ligand gated channels, mechanically gated channels
What are the four types of ion channels?
randomly alternate between opened and closed
What do leakage channels do?
K channels
Are there usually more K or Na channels?
K channels
Are K or Na channels leakier?
higher membrane permeability to K
What is the result of the greater likelihood of leakage of K channels?
change in membrane potential (voltage)
What do voltage gated channels open and close in response to?
specific molecules that bind to the channels
What do ligand-gated channels open and close in response to?
neurotransmitter
What is an example of a specific molecule that could bind to a ligand-gated channel, resulting in the opening and closing of it?
mechanical stimulation
What do mechanically gated channels open/close in response to?
vibration, pressure, stretch
What are three examples of mechanical stimulation?
because of build up of negative ions just inside the neuron cell membrane and the positive ions outside
Why does resting membrane potential exist?
potential energy
What is separation of charges a form of?
-70 mV
What does separation of charges measure about in a typical cell?
K, many anions, phosphates, amino acids
What is the dominant cation inside of the cell? What is also present inside of a cell? Such as?
false
True or False: K cannot leak out of the cell
true
True or False: Anions cannot leak out of the cell
Na
What is the dominant cation outside of the cell?
at rest
When does the inside of a neuron’s membrane have a negative charge?
negative
At rest, what kind of charge does the inside of a neuron’s membrane have?
pump sodium out of the cell and potassium into the cell
What does a Na+/K+ pump in a cell membrane do?
potassium
What is the cell membrane more leakier to: sodium or potassium?
inside of the membrane builds up a net negative charge relative to the outside of the membrane
What is a result of potassium ions leaking out of the cell?
when a stimulus causes a ligand or mechanically gated channel to open or close
How do graded potentials arise?
type of ion channel opened
What does the hyperpolarization or depolarization of a membrane depend on?
hyperpolarized
When a membrane becomes more negative it is…
depolarized
When a membrane becomes more positive it is…
they vary in size depending on the strength of the stimulus
Why are signals graded?
more gates to be open
What does a large stimulus cause?
it is localized, it is only useful for communication over short distances
What is significant about ion flow? What does that mean?
ion flow
What is usually present in dendrites?
small potentials are often summed
What occurs at the axon hillock?
Note 
Flashcard (137)