Action Potential

Subject: Advance Psychophysiology

Submitted to: Ms. Saadia Zia

Dated: 15th May, 2020

Submitted by: Akhwand Abdur Raffi Saulat

Roll no: ADCP-021R20-6

Session: 2020-2021

Department of Psychology
Action Potential

An action potential is a very rapid change in membrane potential that occurs when a nerve
cell membrane is stimulated which helps in conduction of messages along the axon as the message
in a neuron is carried out by electrical impulse. Which triggered through the movement of ions in
and outside of the cell.

There are two forces at work which maintains the membrane potential i.e. Force of
Diffusion; as Sodium ions (Na+), Chloride ions (Cl-), Potassium ions (K+) and Organic ions (A-
). Na+, K+ (in low concentration) and Cl- ions are present in extracellular Space whereas A- and
K+ ions are present in intracellular space, and Force of Electrostatic Pressure due to repulsion
of attraction and repletion of different and similar chargers respectively.

Although the concentrations of the

different ions attempt to balance out on
both sides of the membrane, they cannot
because the cell membrane allows only
some ions to pass through ion channels
i.e. cell membrane is relatively less
permeable for K+ than Na+ and
impermeable for Cl- and A-. When the
neuron is not stimulated the difference in
the voltage between the inside and outside
of the neuron gives us the membrane
potential during rest (resting potential),
which is about -70 mV. Nerve cells
actively pump Na+ out and pump K+ in
using the Sodium Potassium Pump. Since
three Na+ ions enter the cell for every two
K+ ions that leave the cell, three Na+ ions
must leave for every two K+ that enter.

Working of Action Potential:

The value of the membrane potential that must be reached to produce an action potential is
known as threshold of excitation. When the this threshold is attained the membrane potential goes
from the resting potential (typically -70 mV) to some positive value (typically about +30 mV) in
a very short period of time (just a few milliseconds).
 The stimulus causes the sodium gates (or channels) to open and, because there's more
sodium on the outside than the inside of the membrane, sodium then diffuses rapidly into the nerve
cell. All these positively-charged sodium rushing in causes the membrane potential to become
positive (the inside of the membrane is now positive relative to the outside) thus causing
depolarization which is reduction of membrane potential to zero, it jumps the zero and reach the
value of +30 mV. The sodium channels open only briefly, then close again. The potassium
channels then open, and, because there is more potassium inside the membrane than outside,
positively-charged potassium ions diffuse out.

As these positive ions started moving out the membrane potential starts reducing toward
its normal stat but before coming to normal state it over shoots the resting potential as low as -90
mV then return to normal. This phenomenon is known as hyperpolarization. After the event of
action potential neuron then gain its original ionic composition by activating sodium potassium
pump