Practical No 1: Resting Membrane Potential & Action Potential

Resting Membrane Potential: (When a neuron is not sending a signal)

- The cell is called polarized.
- Inside of the cell is negative with respect to the outside of about -70 mV
- Remember, the major extracellular cation is sodium (Na+). The major
intracellular cation is potassium (K+).
Action Potential: It is a sudden reversal of membrane polarity produced by a stimulus.
 Examples of Physiological Effects of Action potentials:
 Transmission of impulses along nerve fibers
 Release of neurotransmitters in synapses
 Contraction of muscle  Activation or inhibition of glandular secretion

Action Potential recorded with one of the recording electrodes inside the cell

 Resting Membrane Potential:

 Depolarization Phase: (Opening of Sodium channels, then sodium ions rush to the
inside of the cell, causing the inside of the membrane to become positive with respect to the
outside)  Overshoot  Peak of the Action potential  Repolarization Phase: (Sodium
permeability decreases and potassium permeability increases and K+ ions leave the cell
down their concentration gradient)  Hyperpolarization

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 Experiment No: 12
Nerve Stimulation
Objectives
To demonstrate the effects of electrical stimuli using the nerves of the forearm

Caution
People who have cardiac pacemakers or who suffer from neurological or cardiac
disorders should not volunteer for such exercises.

Procedure
1. Check that the stimulator switch is off.
2. Place a small amount of electrode cream on the two silver contacts of the
stimulating bar.
3. Place the Stimulating Bar Electrode over the volunteer's Ulnar nerve at the wrist.

4. In the Stimulator panel set current to 5 mA.

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5. Click Start then set the stimulator switch to ON.
(The stimulator status light should now flash green, indicating that the chosen
stimulus current is being passed through the subject's skin).
 If the light flashes yellow, current is not flowing properly.
6. Note the twitch contractions affecting the thumb and fingers.
 Examine the effect of small adjustments in the position of the electrodes, and
locate the position giving the largest twitches.

 If no twitch occurs, increase the stimulus current

7. Explore the motor and sensory results of stimulating at other places in the
forearm.
8. Try stimulating the Ulnar nerve at the level of the elbow. The nerve passes
behind a bony prominence (the medial epicondyle) on the Humerus.
(At this location, the nerve is exposed to minor mechanical injury and is known
to children as the "funny bone". Stimulation at this site gives large and obvious
motor effects.
9. Click Stop and turn the stimulator switch off.

Note:
Each time you move the electrode to another location; wipe away the residual
electrode cream from the skin to prevent short-circuiting.
(Stimulation will be ineffective if the current flows along a surface layer of electrode
cream rather than through the arm).

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Normal Result
A) Motor effects you may observe:

1. Bending of the wrist

2. Bending of the last segments of the fingers

3. Movement of all the fingers

4. Lifting of the thumb

B) Sensory effects you may observe:

1. Stimulation in most places gives rise to little discomfort.

2. In some places there may be a painful sensation in the forearm or hand, away from
the site of stimulation (towards the fingers).

(At these places, a cutaneous sensory nerve is being stimulated).

Student's Result
A. Motor effects: ____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

B. Sensory effects: ___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Dr. Amir Elhadi

Sig _______________ Date ____________