THE NERVE

IMPULSE

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Cells and membrane
potentials
 All animal cells generate a small voltage across
their membranes
 There are a large amount of small organic
molecules in the cytoplasm (e.g. amino acids)
 To balance this, animal cells pump Na + out of the
cells
 This regulates osmosis but it leaves a large
number of organic molecules
 These organic molecules are overall negatively
charged (anions) in the cytoplasm
 Thus the cell has a potential difference (voltage)
across its membrane.
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 Experiments on the neuron of
a giant squid
Concentration /mmol kg-1 water

Ion Axoplasm Blood Sea water

(the cytoplasm plasma
in an axon)
K+ 400 20 10
Na+ 50 440 460

Cl- 120 560 540

Organic
anions 360 - -
(-ve ions)
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 The neuron

www.biologymad.com/.../nervoussystemintro.htm

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS www.lab.anhb.uwa.edu.au/.../Nervous/Nervous.htm

 The neuron

Nodes of Ranvier
Dendrites
Schwann cell Nucleus of Schwann cell

Myelin sheath Axon Terminal dendrites

Cell body

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Neurons
 Neurons, like other cells, are more negatively
charged inside than outside
 This results in a membrane potential of about
– 70 milliVolts
 This is called the resting potential of the
neuron.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Potassium & Sodium Ions
 The two important ions: K+ and Na+
 Both are positively charged ions
 Na+ ions move more slowly across the
membrane than K+ or Cl- ions
 The Na+ ion is smaller than the K+ ion
(Na+ has a larger coating of water molecules
giving it a bigger diameter)
 This makes the plasma membrane 25 times
more permeable to K+ than Na+.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Potassium & Sodium Ions
 K+ ions leak out a little from K+ ion pores
cell is negative inside pulling K+ in
but there is a very high concentration of K+
inside pulling K+ out
 K+ has to be actively pumped inwards a bit
 The resting potential of the neuron is almost at
the equilibrium for K+ ions
 K+ leak out a bit and need pumping in
 Na+ ions, however, are actively pumped out
and kept out.
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 A coupled Na+-K+ pump
plasma
Cytoplasm
membrane ECF

K+ K+
coupled
ion
pump
Na+ Na+

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Getting excited!
 The neuron’s membrane at rest is more negative
inside than outside
 The neuron is said to be polarised
 Neurons are excitable cells
 Neurons are excited when their membranes
become depolarised.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Depolarisation

Depolarising membranes may be achieved by:

a stimulus arriving at a receptor cell
(e.g. vibration of a hair cell in the ear)
a chemical fitting into a receptor site
(e.g. a neurotransmitter)
a nerve impulse travelling down a neuron.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Nerve impulses

 Nerve impulses are self-propagating like a

trail of gunpowder
 Localised currents in the ions occur just
ahead of the impulse causing localised
depolarisation
 Nerve impulses are not like electrical signals
travelling down a wire.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 The action potential
 The action potential is the state of the neuron
membrane when a nerve impulse passes by.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 The action potential
 Localised currents cause Na+ channels to flip
open
 Voltage-gated Na+ channels
 As Na+ moves into the cell, more and more
Na+ channels open
 A small change in the membrane permeability
to Na+ results in a big change in membrane
potential
 The volume of the axon is minute compared to
the volume of the extracellular fluid.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 +35

0
More Na+
channels open
mV Na+ floods
into neuron

Na+ voltage-
gated
channels open
-55 Threshold

-70

Time

Resting potential Action potential

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 All-or-nothing
 Na+s move in, the cell it will become more
positive
 Ion pumps resist the change in the membrane
potential
 If it rises by 15mV and the pumps cannot
restore the equilibrium
 Na+ floods in and neuron is depolarised
 Nerve impulses all look the same, there are
not big ones and little ones
 This is the all-or-nothing law.
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 The threshold
 –55mV represents the threshold potential
 Beyond this we get a full action potential
 The membrane potential rises to +35mV this is
the peak of the action potential
 The cells are almost at the equilibrium for Na+
ions.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 +35 Na+ channels close
and K+ channels
open, K+ floods out
of neuron
0

mV

-55 Threshold

-70

Time

Resting potential Action potential Resting potential

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 Potassium takes over
 Na+ moves in passively until it reaches
equilibrium
 At the same time K+ permeability increases as
voltage-gated K+ channels open –
 K+ channels are a bit slower to respond to the
depolarisation than the Na+ channels
 K+ ions move out
 The cell becomes negative inside with respect to
outside again
 The membrane potential falls
 The cell become repolarised.
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
Potassium ion channel
OPEN CLOSED
 Hyperpolarisation
 The membrane potential falls below the resting
potential of –70mV
 It is said to be hyperpolarised
 The axon is negative inside but the ion
concentration is not the same
 Gradually active pumping of the ions (K+ in
and Na+ out) restores the resting potential
 During this period no impulses can pass along
that part of the membrane
 This is called the refractory period.
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 +35

Hyperpolarisation
0 of the membrane

mV Active pumping
of Na+ out and K+
in during the
refractory period
-55 Threshold

-70

Time

Resting potential Action potential Resting

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS potential
 The neuron

Nodes of Ranvier
Dendrites
Schwann cell Nucleus of Schwann cell

Myelin sheath Axon Terminal dendrites

Cell body

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Myelinated neurones
Non-myelinated Myelinated
neuron neuron

In myelinated neurons the cell membrane of

the Schwann cell wraps around the axon
many times (myelin sheet).
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 Saltation

• No depolarisation occurs under the myelin

• Depolarisation only happens at the nodes
(0.5μm)
• All the Na+ channels are concentrated at the
nodes.
© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS
 Saltation

 An impulse is triggered by local currents that

depolarise the next bit of the membrane
 In myelinated nerves the triggering jumps from
one node to the next
 Much quicker than depolarising all the membrane
along the whole axon.

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS

 Grey matter and White matter
White matter = myelinated for long distance transmission
Grey matter = non-myelinated for short distance
transmission

© 2016 Paul Billiet ODWS