Fundamentals of Neuroscience, Part 1: The Electrical Properties of the Neuron

Lesson 1: The History of Bioelectricity

One defining feature of the nervous system is the use of electricity for communication between
cells. So, before we begin an in-depth study of neurons and the brain, we must first understand a
bit about electricity and how it relates to neurons.
The frog and static charge
The idea that nervous tissue could generate or respond to electricity dates back to the 1700's.
Italian physician Luigi Galvani performed experiments on frog muscles and proposed that they
generated a type of electricity known as "bioelectricity". However, one of his
contemporaries, Alessandro Volta, who had invented the battery questioned this idea and
claimed that muscles and nerves were responsive to electricity, but did not generate it on their
own. In retrospect, both Galvani and Volta were correct, nervous tissue can generate electrical
impulses and respond to them. 
Galvani was one of the first scientists to show that electricity is a key to life.
Lesson 2: Voltage
Whereas current can tell us the rate of charge flow, voltage helps us to understand the forces
behind that flow. Voltage is the difference in electrical potential between two points.
The electrical potential helps us describe the strength and direction of the forces that motivate
electrical charge flow, based on electrostatic forces between charged objects.
To better understand electrical potential, we need to define electrostatic force. This force
describes the attraction or repulsion between charged particles (ions), which can have positive
(+) or negative (–) charges. They obey simple rules: opposite charges (+ and –) attract, while like
charges (+ and +, or – and –) repel.

In neuroscience, the relevant points in space are the inside and the outside of a cell, which are
separated by a membrane that is impermeable to charged particles. Ions cannot flow across this
membrane without the help of channels or pumps.

The intracellular fluid (ICF) compartment is the system that includes all fluid enclosed in cells
by their plasma membranes. Extracellular fluid (ECF) surrounds all cells in the body.

Ions can move through membrane channels and form a charge difference between these two
compartments, resulting in a potential (or voltage) across the membrane. The impermeability of
the membrane allows this voltage to be maintained. This is similar to the build-up of charge
across a capacitor in an electrical circuit. In future lessons, we'll see how exactly the movement
of ions causes this voltage to form.

Voltage is a relative measurement, and neuroscientists always use the outside of the cell as the
‘ground’ or reference point to measure the voltage across the membrane. For example, if the
inside of the cell is 50 mV more negative compared to the outside of the cell, we would report
the voltage as –50 mV.

Lesson 3: Introducing the Resting Potential

Neurons are able to send signals through the use of electricity, and we see that neurons
themselves are electrically charged. Specifically, the lipid membrane of neurons separates
solutions of charged particles, such as K+ and Na+ ions, and this separation creates a difference
in potential energy across the lipid membrane. In neurons that are not sending or receiving
signals, this potential difference is called the ‘resting potential’.

Main Parts of the Neuron:

Cell body (Soma) - houses the cell's nucleus and a variety of cellular machinery.
Also known as a soma, the cell body is the neuron’s core. The cell body carries genetic
information, maintains the neuron’s structure, and provides energy to drive activities.

Like other cell bodies, a neuron’s soma contains a nucleus and specialized organelles. It’s
enclosed by a membrane which both protects it and allows it to interact with its immediate
surroundings.

Axon

An axon is a long, tail-like structure which joins the cell body at a specialized junction called the
axon hillock. Many axons are insulated with a fatty substance called myelin. Myelin helps axons
to conduct an electrical signal. Neurons generally have one main axon.

Dendrites

Dendrites are fibrous roots that branch out from the cell body. Like antennae, dendrites receive
and process signals from the axons of other neurons. Neurons can have more than one set of
dendrites, known as dendritic trees. How many they have generally depends on their role.

The charged ions, sodium (Na+ ions), potassium (K+ ions), calcium (Ca2+ ions), and chloride
(Cl- ions), which are present in reasonably high concentrations and are important in generating a
resting potential in the neuron.

Dendrites Axon

Soma
A note on the difference between "membrane" and "resting" potential.

To understand the general electrical properties of neurons as well as how they send signals, it's
important to understand some key terms that neuroscientists use to describe them. At this point in
the course we want to highlight two:

1. Membrane potential: this is a general term that describes the voltage across the
membrane at any point in time; the membrane potential of a neuron can vary widely, for
example from -90 mV to +60 mV

2. Resting potential: the membrane potential of a neuron that is specifically "at rest,"

meaning that it is not sending or receiving signals, generally between -60 mV and -70
mV

Lesson 4: Diffusion and Electrostatics

Both inside and outside of the neuron, ions and other particles exist in an aqueous solution and
are able to move around. There are many forces that can guide their behavior, two of which are
important to us: the diffusive and electrostatic forces. It’s important for us to understand how
these forces affect the movement of charged particles such as K+ and Na+ ions, since the
movement of these ions across the membrane of a neuron can change its membrane potential.
Both of these forces will be important for us when understanding how the resting potential is
established.

Diffusion - is the process by which particles spread out or mix

In the aggregate, the process of diffusion causes particles to move from regions of high
concentration to regions where the concentration is lower.

Electrostatic Force - Positive and negative charges attract one another. And like charges--
positive and positive or negative and negative-- repel.

Lesson 5: Potentials and Equilibrium

Ion movement through membrane channels is guided by diffusive and electrostatic forces, and
the movement of these ions can change the membrane potential. Here we will consider the
movement of a single ion: K+. We will investigate how an equilibrium can be reached when one
ion is allowed to flow across the membrane.