Types of Neuron transmission and communication system

There are two types of communications

1. Communication between Neuron

2. Communication within Neuron

Communication between Neuron:

Neurons send messages electrochemically. This means that chemicals cause an

electrical signal. Chemicals in the body are "electrically-charged" -- when they have
an electrical charge, they are called ions. The important ions in the nervous system
are sodium and potassium (both have 1 positive charge, +), calcium (has 2
positive charges, ++) and chloride (has a negative charge, -). There are also some
negatively charged protein molecules. It is also important to remember that nerve
cells are surrounded by a membrane that allows some ions to pass through and
blocks the passage of other ions. This type of membrane is called semi-
permeable.

Neurons send signals to other neurons via specialized contacts known as synapses.
The most common type of synapse in the nervous system is known as a chemical
synapse. Typically a chemical synapse occurs between the axon terminal of the
neuron sending the message, and the dendrite of the neuron receiving the
message. The neuron sending the message is known as the presynaptic cell and the
one receiving the message is the postsynaptic cell. In a chemical synapse, the
presynaptic and postsynaptic cell dont actually touch each other, but are separated
by a very tiny gap known as a synaptic cleft. The synaptic cleft is only 20
nanometers wide. This is teeny. In comparison, a human hair is about 100,000
nanometers thick. What a chemical synapse does, is it transforms an electrical
signal (which is the action potential in the presynaptic cells axon) into a chemical
signal (which is the neurotrasmitter) and back to an electrical signal (the
postsynaptic potential) in the postsynaptic cell.

Communication within neuron is six steps procedure

 1. Depolarization

After a cell has established a resting potential, that cell has the capacity to
undergo depolarization. During depolarization, the charge within the cell rapidly
shifts from negative to positive. For this rapid change to take place within the
interior of the cell, several events must occur along the plasma membrane of the
cell as well. While the sodium potassium pump continues to work, the voltage
gated ion channels that had been closed while the cell was at resting potential
have been opened by an electrical stimulus. As the sodium rushes back into the
cell the positive sodium ions raise the charge inside the cell from negative to
positive. Once the interior of the cell becomes positively charged, depolarization
of the cell is complete.

2. Action Potential

Alternatively, a large enough depolarization event, perhaps resulting from

multiple depolarizing inputs that happen at the same time, can lead to the
production of an action potential. An action potential, unlike a graded potential,
is an all-or-none event: it may or may not occur, but when it does occur, it will
always be of the same size (is not proportional to the size of the stimulus).

An action potential begins when a depolarization increases the membrane voltage

so that it crosses a threshold value (usually around55 -5555minus, 55
mV\text{mV}mVm, V).

At this threshold, voltage-gated Na+\text {Na}^+Na+N, a, start superscript, plus,

end superscript channels in the membrane open, allowing many sodium ions to rush
into the cell. This influx of sodium ions makes the membrane potential increase very
rapidly, going all the way up to about +40+40+40plus, 40 mV\text{mV}mVm, V.

After a short time, the sodium channels self-inactivate (close and become
unresponsive to voltage), stopping the influx of sodium. A set of voltage-gated
potassium channels open, allowing potassium to rush out of the cell down its
electrochemical gradient. These events rapidly decrease the membrane potential,
bringing it back towards its normal resting state.

The voltage-gated potassium channels stay open a little longer than needed to
bring the membrane back to its resting potential. This results in a phenomenon
called undershoot, in which the membrane potential briefly dips lower (more
negative) than its resting potential.

Eventually, the voltage-gated potassium channels close and the membrane

potential stabilizes at resting potential. The sodium channels return to their normal
state (remaining closed, but once more becoming responsive to voltage). The action
potential cycle may then begin again.

3. Peak Action Potential

As the membrane potential is increased, sodium ion channels open, allowing the
entry of sodium ions into the cell. ... The sodium channels close at the The sodium
channels close at the peak of the action potential, while potassium continues to
leave the cell. The efflux of potassium ions decreases the membrane potential or
hyperpolarizes the cell. For small voltage increases from rest, the potassium current
exceeds the sodium current and the voltage returns to its normal resting value,
typically 70 mV. However, if the voltage increases past a critical threshold,
typically 15 mV higher than the resting value, the sodium current dominates. This
results in a runaway condition whereby the positive feedback from the sodium
current activates even more sodium channels. Thus, the cell fires, producing an
action potential. The frequency at which cellular action potentials are produced is
known as its firing rate., while potassium continues to leave the cell. The efflux of
potassium ions decreases the membrane potential or hyperpolarizes the cell.

4. Repolarization

After a cell has been depolarized, it undergoes one final change in internal charge.
Following depolarization, the voltage gated sodium ion channels that had been open
while the cell was undergoing depolarization close again. The increased positive
charge within the cell now causes the potassium channels to open. Potassium ions
(K+) begin to move down the electrochemical gradient (in favor of the
concentration gradient and the newly established electrical gradient). As potassium
moves out of the cell the potential within the cell plummets and approaches its
resting potential once more. The sodium potassium pump works continuously
throughout this process.
 5. Hyperpolarization

The process of repolarization causes an overshoot in the potential of the cell.

Potassium ions continue to move out of the axon so much so that the resting
potential is exceeded and the new cell potential becomes more negative than the
resting potential. The resting potential is ultimately re-established by the closing of
all voltage-gated ion channels and the activity of the sodium potassium ion pump.

6. Resting Potential

The resting potential must be established within a cell before the cell can be
depolarized. There are many mechanisms by which a cell can establish a resting
potential, however there is a typical pattern of generating this resting potential that
many cells follow. The cell uses ion channels, ion pumps, and voltage gated ion
channels to generate a negative resting potential within the cell. However, the
process of generating the resting potential within the cell also creates an
environment outside of the cell that favors depolarization. The sodium potassium
pump is largely responsible for the optimization of conditions on both the interior
and the exterior of the cell for depolarization. By pumping three positively charged
sodium ions (Na+) out of the cell for every two positively charged potassium ions
(K+) pumped into the cell, not only is the resting potential of the cell established,
but an unfavorable concentration gradient is created by increasing the
concentration of sodium outside of the cell and increasing the concentration of
potassium within the cell. Although there is an excessive amount of potassium in
the cell and sodium outside of the cell, the generated resting potential keeps the
voltage gated ion channels in the plasma membrane closed, preventing the ions
that have been pumped across the plasma membrane from diffusing to an area of
lower concentration. Additionally, despite the high concentration of positively-
charged potassium ions, most cells contain internal components (of negative
charge), which accumulate to establish a negative inner-charge. At the level of
+30mv no more Sodium enter in the membrane.