ACTION POTENTIAL

- An action potential is a rapid sequence of changes in the voltage across a membrane. The membrane
voltage or potential is determined at any time by the relative ratio of ions, extracellular to intracellular,
and the permeability of each ion.

- An action potential is defined as a sudden, fast, transitory, and propagating change of the resting
membrane potential. Only neurons and muscle cells are capable of generating an action potential; that
property is called the excitability.

Action potentials are nerve signals. Neurons generate and conduct these signals along their processes in
order to transmit them to the target tissues. Upon stimulation, they will either be stimulated, inhibited,
or modulated in some way.

STEPS OF ACTION POTENTIAL

PHASES OF ACTION POTENTIAL

An action potentails has three phases: depolarization, overshoot, and repolarization.

There are two more states of the membrane potential related to the action potential. The first one is
hypopolarization which precedes the depolarization, while the second one is hyperpolarization, which
follows the repolarization.

Hypopolarization is the initial increase of the membrane potential to the value of the threshold
potential. The threshold potential opens voltage-gated sodium channels and causes a large influx of
sodium ions. This phase is called the depolarization. During depolarization, the inside of the cell
becomes more and more electropositive, until the potential gets closes the electrochemical equilibrium
from sodium if +61 mV. This phase of extreme positivity is the overshoot phase.

After the overshoot, the sodium permeability suddenly decreases due to the clsing of its channels. The
overshoot value of the cell potential opens voltage-gated potassium channels, which causes a large
potassium efflxux, decreasinf the cell's electropositivity. This phase is the repolarization phase, whose
purpose is to restore the resting membrane potential. Repolarization always leads first to
hyperpolarization, a state in which the membrane potential is more negative that the defult membrane
potential. But soon after that, the membrane establishes again the values of membrane potential.

REFRACTORY PERIOD

Absolute refractoriness overlaps the depolarization and around 2/3 of repolarization phase. A new action
potential cannot be generated during depolarization because all the voltage-gated sodium channels are
already opened or being opened at their maximum speed. During early repolarization, a new action
potential is impossible since the sodium channels are inactive and need the resting potential to be in a
closed state, from which they can be in an open state once again. Absolute refractoriness ends when
enough sodium channels recover from their inactive state.

- The Absolute Refractory Period which occurs once the sodium channels close after an AP. Sodium
channels then enter an inactive state during which they cannot be reopened, regardless of the
membrane potential.

Relative refractoriness is the period when the generation of a new action potential is possible, but only
upon a suprathreshold stimulus. This period overlaps the final 1/3 of repolarization.

- The Reletive Refractory Period which occurs when sodium slowly come out of the inactivation. During
this period the neurone can be excited with stimuli stronger than the one normally needed to initiate an
AP. Early on in the relative refractory period, the strength of the stimulus required is very high. Gradually,
it becomes smaller throughout the relative refractory period as more sodium channels recover from the
inactivation stage.

PROPAGATION OF ACTION POTENTIAL

Action potentials are propagated along the axons of neurones via local currents. Local currents induce
depolarisation of the adjacent axonal membrane. Where this reaches a threshold, further action
potentials are generated. The areas of the membrane that have recently depolarized will not depolarized
again due to the refractory period - meaning that the action potential will only travel in one direction.

These local currents would eventually decrease in charge until a threshold is no longer reached. The
distance that this would take depends on the membrane capacitance and resistance:

Membrane Capacitance - the ability to store charge. The lower capacitance results in a greater distance
before the threshold is no longer reached.

Membrane Resistance - this depends on the number of ion channels open. The lower the number of
channels open, the greater membrane resistance is. A higher membrane resistance results in a greater
distance before the threshold is no longer reached.
INTRACELLULAR COMMUNICATION

Signal transduction
SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION

The cells of our bodies are receiving signals from other cells. These signals are important to keep cells
alive and functioning as well as to stimulate important events such as cell division and differentiation.

Signals are most often chemicals that can be found in the extracellular fluid around cells. These
chemicals can come from distant locations in the body (endocrine signaling by hormones), from nearby
cells (paracrine signaling) or can even be secreted by the same cell (autocrine signaling).

Signaling molecules may trigger any number of cellular responses, including changing the metabolism of
the cell receiving the signal or result in a change in gene expression (transcription) within the nucleus of
the cell or both.

INTRACELLULAR COMMUNICATION

Intracellular signaling refers to cell communication that occurs within the cell. Receptors located on the
cell membrane receive a signal and convert into an intracellular signal. Then intracellular receptors
continue signal transmission to the target with the cell.

Intracellular signaling cascade involves many components and their modification occurs by enzymes.
Phosphorylation is the most common chemical modification that takes place during intracellular
signaling; it activated enzymes that are essential for the downstream process. Moreover,
phosphorylation causes changes in their shapes. In phosphorylation, kinase enzyme catalyzes the
addition of phosphate group into molecules. Furthermore, intracellular signaling uses secondary
messengers such as calcium ion, diacylglycerol, inositol triphosphate and cyclic AMP, etc.