Neuronal membrane

and resting potential

Essentials of Neuroscience
A/Prof Renée Turner
Contact Details
A/Prof Renée Turner
Adelaide Medical School
Room N211, Helen Mayo North
Phone: 8313 3114
Email: eon@adelaide.edu.au

Slide 2
 After this lecture you should be able to:
• Discuss key properties of the neuronal membrane
• Describe the main types of transport across the neuronal
membrane
– Diffusion: simple, facilitated
– Active transport
• Describe ion channel sub types and their activity:
– Leakage
– Ligand-gated
– Voltage-gated
– Mechanically-gated
• Define resting membrane potential
• Understand the function of the Na+/K+ ATPase pump in maintaining
resting membrane potential
Revision: Label the Neuron

Slide 4
 Neuronal Communication
• Neurons communicate via special electrical signals called
action potentials

• Features of neurons:
1. Excitability/irritability
2. Conductivity
3. Secretion

or oligodendrocyte

Slide 5
 Getting Started….
some key players
Cytosol and extracellular fluid:
• Cytosol = intracellular fluid = fluid
component within cells
• Extracellular fluid = fluid
(outside) surrounding and bathing
neurons

Water (H2O)
• Important property of water is its
uneven distribution of
• electrical charge à this makes H2O
a polar molecule.
• Such polarity makes H2O an
Extracellular
effective solvent for other charged fluid

or polar molecules to dissolve in.

tes.com; Antranik.org
 Getting Started….
some key players
Ions
• Atoms or molecules that
have a net electrical charge
– Eg: table salt, NaCl
• made up of Na+ and Cl- ions
held together by the electrical
attraction of oppositely
charged atoms = ionic bond.

• Ions with net positive

charge = cations (cations
= t for +)
• Ions with a net negative
charge = anions
• Most important ions for
neurophysiology: Na+, K+,
Ca2+, Cl- Socratic; Quora; ScienceStruck
The Neuronal Membrane
(Phospholipid bilayer)

Intracellular fluid/cytosol/cytoplasm

Extracellular fluid

fourier.eng.hmc.edu 8
The Phospholipid Membrane

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfu1DE9PK2w 9
 Functions of Neuronal Membranes

• Proteins embedded throughout the neuronal membrane

– Structure, support, movement, many more…
• Electrical insulation
• Plasma membrane prevents diffusion of ions in/out of neuron
• Passage of specific ions/molecules permitted via specialised channels
and pumps = controlled, specific
• Composition of membrane will vary depending upon site along Slide
length10

of the neuron jonlieffmd.com

 Types of movement across the membrane

• Diffusion
– Movement of ions
– From high concentration to low concentration

• Osmosis
– Movement of water
– From less concentrated solution to high concentrated solution

11
 Diffusion vs. Osmosis

• Diffusion = the movement of ions along

concentration gradient
• Osmosis = the movement of water along
concentration gradient

12
Difference Wiki; ScienceStruck
 Diffusion
=net movement of ions from a region of high concentration to
low concentration

13
 Types of Diffusion
• Simple = movement through inter-molecular spaces in the
membrane
– Eg: Gases - such as O2, CO2 etc
• Facilitated = utilises a carrier protein to assist movement of
molecules across the membrane
– Eg: Ions – Na+, K+ etc

• Ions typically don’t pass directly through the membrane à diffusion

causes ions to be pushed through channels in the membrane

• Ions will flow down their concentration gradient when:

1) Membrane has ion channels permeable to the ions
2) There is a concentration gradient across the membrane

14
Simple Diffusion vs. Facilitated Diffusion

15
 Difference in concentration
= concentration gradient
Large difference in concentration gradient
= fast movement
Small differences in concentration gradient
= slow movement
Diffusion is temperature dependent
Faster at higher temperatures (left); slower at
lower temperatures (right)
Moving ions with their concentration gradient
(from high to low) does not require energy
= passive transport (left)
Moving ions against their concentration gradient
(from low to high) requires energy
= active transport (right)
16
www.slideshare.net; en.stonkcash.com
 Active Transport
Movement against the gradient

• Moves ions from low concentration

to high concentration
= against concentration gradient

• Requires energy in the form of

ATP (because moving against concentration
gradient)

• Na+/K+ ATPase pump

= essential for maintaining resting
potential in neurons
– Uses one ATP molecule per
reaction/transfer
17
www.premedhq.com
 Battery

Ionic/Electrical Gradient
+ -
Electrical current:
• Electrical fields can be used to move ions
• Electrical current = movement of Na+
ions/charge Cation
– Measured in amperes (amps)
– Positive current flows in direction of positive
charge movement

-
Anode Cathode
– Negative current flows in direction of
negative charge movement +
• For example: electrolysis of salt water
– NaCl contains a negative and positive charge
(Na+ and Cl-)
– Applying charge to water separates Nacp into Cl-
Na+ and Cl- Anion
– Opposites attract
• the negative charge is attracted to the positive
charge, and vice versa
• Net movement of Na+ towards cathode (-)
• Net movement of Cl- towards anode (+)
18
 Electrical Current
• How much current will flow is determined by 2
important factors:

1) Electrical potential = voltage

– Force exterted on a charged particle = difference in charge
between anode and cathods
– The greater the electrical potential à the greater the current
– Equilibrium potential = volatge required to balance ionic
gradient

2) Electrical conductance:
– Relative ability of an electrical charge to migrate from one
point to another

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 Ion Channels and Pumps
• Regulate diffusion: ion
passage through the
membrane
• Many different types of
K+
ion channels present in
the neuronal membrane Na+
including:
– Potassium (K+)
– Sodium (Na+)
– Calcium (Ca2+)
– Chloride (Cl-)

Slide 20
 Ion Channels
and Pumps
• Span the phospholipid
membrane
• Extracellular and
intracellular components
• Made up of protein
subunits
– Comprised of amino acids
= building blocks of
proteins
– Primary, secondary,
tertiary and quaternary
structure

21
rsob.royalsocietypublishing.org
 Protein Structure

Increased folding
and complexity of
protein structure

22
 Ion Channels and Pumps
• Integral to the function of
neurons
• Dynamic
• Ion channel subunits come together to
form a pore which can open and close
– Leaky = randomized access
– Gated = open or close in response to
stimuli
• Voltage: change in membrane potential
• Ligand/chemical: neurotransmitters,
hormones
• Mechanical: vibration, pressure, stretch

• Selective = allow specific

ions/molecules to pass through
– Na+ channels
– K+ channels
– Na+/K+ ATPase pump
http://karri.anu.edu.au/corry/highlights.html 23
 ION CHANNELS AND PUMPS
K+
Na+
K+

Na+/K+ Voltage-Gated Na+ Voltage-Gated K+

ATPase Pump Channels Leakage K+ Channels
Channels

Na+
K+ K+
Na+
Na+

AXON
Intracellular space

Cell Body Axon terminal

Extracellular space
 Leakage Ion Channels
Allows ions pass through channel at ANY TIME
Irrespective of membrane potential

K+ Na+
K+
K+
Na+ K+
Na+

Leakage Na+ Channel

K+ K+ K+ K+
K+
K+ K+
Na+ Na+

K+ K+
K+

25
 Voltage-Gated Ion Channels
Channels only open in response to specific voltage

Na+ Na+ Na+ Na+

Na+ Na+
Voltage = -70mV Na+ Na+
Na+

Channel = closed Na+

Voltage-Gated Na+
Channel

K+ K+
Na+ Na+
Na+ K+ K+
Na+

Voltage = -50mV

Channel = open
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Voltage-Gated Ion Channels

http://www.handwrittentutorials.com/ 27
 Ligand-Gated Ion Channels
Channels only open in response to binding of a specific
Cl-
ligand to its receptor
GABA

Cl-
Cl-
Cl- Cl-

GABA receptor

No ligand bound =
channel closed
Ligand bound to its receptor
= channel open

28
Ligand-Gated Ion Channels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du-BwT0Ul2M 29
Resting membrane potential
= neuron “at rest”

slideplayer.com 30
 Membrane Potential
• We can measure the charge of the neuronal membrane
– Composition of ions outside versus inside the cell
– This is called the “membrane potential”
• Changes dynamically
– Dependent on electrical activity of cell/neuron
– Changes with the movement of ions in/out of cell
 Membrane Potential
• Small change in ionic concentration à big change in
membrane potential
• Ions are driven across membrane based on equilibrium
potential
• Equilibrium potential = voltage required to balance
ionic concentration
• Driving force to create equilibrium for all ions
• Each ion has a unique equilibrium potential
= Nernst equation

32
 Resting Potential = the neuron “at rest”?
• Under normal conditions neurons are
“at rest”
• This is called resting potential = -
70mV
• Calculated using the Goldman
Equation
– Considers ionic permeability
• This means there is:
– a positive charge outside the
cell/axon
– a negative charge inside the cell/axon.
• Due to the presence of negatively
charged ions/proteins inside the axon

Slide 33
Neurons are ALWAYS working to maintain
their optimal environment
= resting membrane potential.
This requires energy.

Slide 34
 Resting Potential -70mV
• Constantly working to maintain this optimal environment (-70mV) within the
neuron/axon
• Leakage K+ channels release K+
– Alters membrane potential
– Reduces optimal molecular environment
• To maintain optimal environment (-70mV)
– Na+/K+ ATPase pump/transporter active
– Removes 3 Na+ from inside axon, takes in 2 K+ from outside axon
– This process requires energy in the form of ATP
• Therefore resting potential is maintained by ion pumps
• Resting potential is re-established after an action potential

Slide 35
 Membrane Potential
• Normally is -70mV = resting potential, means that:
– Outside of the cell has more positive ions/charges
– Inside of the cell has less positive ions/charges
• Can go towards zero when the neuron is “excited” – this is when an
action potential is most likely to occur - becomes “less negative”
• Becomes more negative as the neuron relaxes and becomes “less
excited” – this decreases the chance of an action potential occurring -
becomes “more negative”
Na+ RESTING MEMBRANE POTENTIAL Na+

K+
Na+ Na+ Na+
Na+ Na+
K+ K+ Na+

Na+

Na+/K+ Voltage-Gated Na+ Voltage-Gated K+

ATPase Pump Channels Leakage K+ Channels
Channels

Na+
Na+
K+ K+
Na+
K+
K+

Na+ K+
K+
K+
AXON
-70mV
Intracellular space
Cell Body Axon terminal
Extracellular space
37
 How does the neuron
achieve resting potential?
• Via Na+/K+ ATPase pump:
– Movement of Na+ ions out of
the axon
– Movement of K+ ions into the
axon

• At rest 80% of our oxygen

goes to maintaining the
resting membrane potential!

• 3 Na+ out, 2 K+ in à net negative

charge inside the axon and net
positive to the outside

• Resting potential is -70 mV

because the cell is more
negative on the inside, and Resting potential = inside of
more positive on the outside.
axon is negativeSlide 38
Resting Membrane Potential

http://www.handwrittentutorials.com/ 39
How do messages get
sent within a neuron?
The action potential!

40
 Revision Materials
Please use these resources to help consolidate the main
concepts from this lecture

Slide 41
 Some useful videos for revision

• Transport across membranes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmZKe__NTUg

• Resting membrane potential

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9THfG4ZoN4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6WPCNcxn2A

• Gated ion channels:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFTA2XH8D-U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aWL84eW7z8

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