Chapter 12

Biological electricity and

action potentials

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Electrical Signals in Cells

 Cells are electrically excitable due to the

voltage difference across their membrane
 This voltage difference is created by ions
(which are electrical charged particles)
flowing through protein channels in the cell
membrane.
 Cells can send messages inside themselves
or to another cell by changing the voltage
difference.
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Resting Membrane Potential
 Negative ions along inside of cell
membrane & positive ions along
outside
 Voltage (or ‘potential’) difference at

rest is -70 milliVolts (mV)

 cell is said to be “polarized”

 Resting potential exists because there

are more positively charge particles
outside the cell compared to inside the
cell

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Graded Potentials
 Graded potentials are small changes to the resting
potential of -70mV
 hyperpolarization = membrane potential becomes more
negative (e.g. -90mV) because more positively charged
particles have exited the cell to the extracellular fluid
 depolarization = membrane potential becomes more
positive (e.g. -70mV) because more positively charged
particles have entered the cell to the intracellular
fluid/cytosol

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Graded Potentials

 These changes in membrane potential are

graded, meaning they vary in amplitude
(‘size’), depending on the strength of the
stimulus.
 These changes in membrane potential are
localised.

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Hyperpolarized/Depolarized Graded
Potential
Nerve cell or neuron

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Stimulus strength and graded potentials

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Summation

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Generation of Action Potentials
 When the membrane depolarizes it might reach the
‘threshold’ potential (usually -55mV). Reaching the
threshold depends on how many positive charged
particles enter the cell.

 If this happens, protein channels open and allow

more positive charged particles to enter the cell.
This causes the cell membrane to depolarize rapidly
to +30 mV; (it reverses – negative outside and
positive inside) and is known as an action potential

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Generation of Action Potentials
 Note that an action potential is ‘all-or-none’ - meaning it
either happens or it doesn’t! there is no big or small
action potential – it is always the same size (+30mV).

 Now the cell restores its membrane potential

(repolarization to -70mV) by opening channels which
allow positive charged particles to exit the cell (i.e.
making the inside more negative)

 A strong stimulus will result in many action potentials

close together in time

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Stimulus strength and Action Potential
generation

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Continuous versus Saltatory Conduction
 Continuous conduction (unmyelinated fibers)
 step-by-step depolarization of each portion of the
length of the cell membrane of a nerve cell

 Saltatory conduction
 depolarization only at nodes of Ranvier where
there is a high density of protein channels in
nerve cells

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Propagation of an Action Potential in a
neuron after it arises at the trigger zone

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Factors that affect speed of propagation

 Amount of myelination

 Axon diameter

 Temperature

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Signal Transmission at the Synapse
 A synapse is the small space (or junction
between) to cells (usually nerve cells)
 2 Types of synapses
 electrical
 ionic current spreads to next cell through gap junctions
 Fast; information can travel in both directions
 chemical
 one-way information transfer
 See next slide

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Signal transmission at the chemical
synapse
Presynaptic cell

Postsynaptic cell

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Chemical Synapses
 Action potential reaches the end of the presynaptic
cell and calcium channels open
 Calcium flows inward stimulating release of
neurotransmitter
 Neurotransmitter crosses the synapse binds to a
channel on the postsynaptic cell and causes the
channel to open – this allows charged particles in or
out and changes the membrane potential of the
postsynaptic cell

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Signal transmission at a chemical
synapse

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Excitory and Inhibitory Postsynaptic
Potentials
 The effect of a neurotransmitter can be either
excitatory or inhibitory on the postsynaptic cell

 a depolarizing postsynaptic potential is called an excitatory

post synaptic potential (EPSP) (e.g. -70mV to -60mV) –
positively charged particles move inside the cell

 A hyperpolarising postsynaptic potential is called an

inhibitory postsynaptic potential is called an IPSP (IPSP;
-70 mV to -90mV - Positively charge particles move out of the
cell

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 Removal of Neurotransmitter
 Enzymatic degradation
 Uptake by nerve cells

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Summation

 If several presynaptic cells release their

neurotransmitter at about the same time, the
combined effect may generate a nerve
impulse due to summation
 Summation may be spatial or temporal.

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Spatial Summation
 Summation of effects of neurotransmitters released
from several end bulbs onto one neuron

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Temporal Summation
 Summation of effect of neurotransmitters released
from 2 or more firings of the same end bulb in rapid
succession onto a second neuron

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Summation

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End of Chapter 12

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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