Excitable Cells and Neuronal

Signalling
Chapter 3

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 Membrane Potential

i. Plasma membrane of all living cells has a membrane

potential (polarized electrically)
ii. Separation of opposite charges across plasma
membrane
iii. Due to differences in concentration and permeability of
key ions

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 Membrane Potential
iv. Nerve and muscle cells
• Excitable cells
• Have ability to produce rapid, transient changes in their membrane
potential when excited
v. Resting membrane potential
• Constant membrane potential present in cells of non-excitable
tissues and those of excitable tissues when they are at rest

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 Membrane Potential

vi. Effect of sodium-potassium pump on

membrane potential
Makes a contribution to membrane
potential through its unequal transport of
positive ions

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Neural Communication
• Nerve and muscle are excitable tissues
• Electrical signals are critical to their
function

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 Neural Communication
Electrical states

A. Polarization
• Any state when the membrane potential is
other than 0mV
B. Depolarization
• Membrane becomes less polarized than at
resting potential
C. Repolarization
• Membrane returns to resting potential after
having been depolarized
D. Hyperpolarization
• Membrane becomes more polarized than at
resting potential
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Types of Changes in Membrane Potential

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Neural Communication

Two kinds of potential change:

A. Graded potentials

B. Action potentials

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The Magnitude and Duration of a Graded Potential

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 Graded Potential
• Occurs in small, specialized region of the membrane
• Magnitude continues to decrease

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Graded Potentials
Examples of graded potentials:
a. Postsynaptic potentials
b. Receptor potentials
c. End-plate potentials
d. Pacemaker potentials

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 Action
Potentials
a. Brief, rapid, large (100mV) changes

b. Involves only a small portion of the total

excitable cell membrane

c. Do not decrease in strength

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Figure 3-8: Changes in Membrane Potential During an Action Potential

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Figure 3-11:Permeability changes and ion fluxes during an action potential

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 Action Potentials
When membrane reaches threshold
potential
• Flow of sodium ions into the ICF
reverses the membrane potential
from -70 mV to +30 mV

• Flow of potassium ions into the ECF

restores the membrane potential to
the resting state

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 Action Potentials
• Role of positive feedback

• Double gating of the sodium channels

• Delayed opening of the potassium

channels

• Undiminished movement of the

action potential

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Figure 3-10: Positive feedback in Action Potentials

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Figure 3-9:Double Gating of Sodium Channel

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 Role of Na+/K+ pump in Action
Potentials

The Na+/K+ pump gradually restores the

concentration gradients disrupted by action
potentials.

• Sodium is pumped into the ECF

• Potassium is pumped into the ICF

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Figure 3-15:Absolute and Relative Refractory Periods

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 Refractory Period
Period of time following an action
potential
Marked by decreased excitability
Types
• Absolute
• Relative

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Causes of Refractory Periods

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Figure 7.18c
 Refractory Periods
Absolute
• Spans all of depolarization and
most of the repolarization phase
• Second action potential cannot be
generated
• Sodium gates are inactivated

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 Refractory Periods

Relative
• Spans last part of repolarization phase and
hyperpolarization
• Second action potential can be generated—
with a stronger stimulus
• Sodium gates closed
• Few potassium channels still open

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Consequences of Refractory Periods

• All-or-none principle
• Unidirectional propagation of action
potentials

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Figure 3-14: Value of the Refractory Period

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 Neuron
• Action potentials are propagated from the
axon hillock to the axon terminals
• Basic parts of neuron
• Cell body
• Dendrites
• Axon

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 Neuron
Axon
• Conducting zone of the neuron

• Collaterals
• Side branches of axon

• Axon hillock
• First portion of the axon plus the region of the cell body from which the
axon leaves
• Neuron’s trigger zone

• Axon terminals
• Release chemical messengers that simultaneously influence other cells
with which they come into close association
• Output zone of the neuron

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 Action Potentials
Two types of propagation
A. Contiguous conduction
• in unmyelinated fibers
• Action potential spreads along every portion of the membrane

B. Saltatory conduction
• in myelinated fibers
• Impulse jumps over sections of the fiber covered with
insulating myelin

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Figure 3-12:Anatomy of the Most Abundant Structural Type of Neuron
(Nerve Cell)

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Figure 3-13:Contiguous Conduction

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 Saltatory Conduction

• Propagates action potential faster than contiguous

conduction
• Myelinated fibers conduct impulses about 50 times faster
• Myelin
• Primarily composed of lipids
• Formed by oligodendrocytes in CNS
• Formed by Schwann cells in PNS

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Figure 3-16:Myelinated Fibres

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 Synapses
Anatomy
• Presynaptic neuron

• Synaptic knob – contains synaptic vesicles

• Synaptic vesicles – stores neurotransmitter

• Postsynaptic neuron – neuron whose action potentials are

propagated away from the synapse

• Synaptic cleft
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Figure 3-17: Synaptic Inputs to a Postsynaptic Neuron

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Figure 3-18: Synaptic Structure and Function

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 Synapses
Are of two types:

A. Excitatory synapses

B. Inhibitory synapses

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Figure 3-19:Postsynaptic Potentials

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Neural
summation
Is of two types:
Temporal Summation
Spatial Summation

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 Figure 3-20: Determination of the Grand Postsynaptic
Potential by the Sum of Activity in the Presynaptic Inputs

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 Drugs/diseases/infections that alter
synaptic Transmission (page 88)

• Cocaine
• Blocks reuptake of neurotransmitter dopamine at
presynaptic terminals

• Parkinson’s disease

• Tetanus toxin
• Prevents release of inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA,
affecting skeletal muscles

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 Neurotransmitters
(Page 83)
• Vary from synapse to synapse

• Quickly removed from the synaptic cleft

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Intercellular Communication and
Signal Transduction

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Figure 2-26: Types of Intracellular Junctions

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Chemical Messengers
Five types of chemical messengers:

1. Autocrines

2. Paracrines

3. Neurocines:

a) Neurotransmitter
b) Neuromodulator (Neuropeptide)
c) Neurohormone
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Chemical Messengers
4. Hormones:

a) Hydrophilic
b) Lipophilic

5. Cytokines

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