Lecture 3- Neurotransmission Flashcards
NT 1
Within a neuron
NT 2
Between neurons
Dendrites
Recipient of information from other neurons, large receptive field
Soma
Contains the tools that control processing in the cell and integrates info
Axon
- Uses action potential to pass info from the soma to the terminal boutons
- Can contact multiple neurons
Terminal boutons
- Found at the end of the axon
- Communication point with other neuron
Neural membrane
- Boundary of soma, dendrites, axon and terminal boutons
- Lipid bilayer
- Separates extracellular and intracellular
1930s Hodgkin and Huxley
- Used squids giant axon in sea water
- Measured electrical voltage
- Placed microelectrodes inside and outside membrane
Membrane potential
Electrical charge across the membrane
At rest difference between inside and outside of neurons is
Approximately 65-70 mV (millivolts)
At rest inside of neurons is more
Negatively charged than the outside
What causes there to be a membrane potential
Force of diffusion
Force of electrostatic pressure (particles moving to opposite charge Na+ -> negatively charged)
Equilibrium potential
Outward movement = inward movement
Resting membrane potential results from
The separation of charge across the membrane
What are Organic anions
- Big and heavy
- Influence the neuron charge
At rest which channels are more open
K+ channels open more than Na+
At rest high concentration of
- Na+ outside neuron
- High concentration of K+ inside neuron
What’s the Nernst Equation
The equilibrium potential can be calculated for any ion using this
If you have a bigger ion concentration outside than inside what is the equilibrium potential
Positive equilibrium potential
Sodium-Potassium pump maintains
Ionic concentration gradients across the membrane and therefore membrane potential
If potassium was the only ion moving the potential would stabilise at
-90 mV
However, positively charged sodium ions leak into the neuron, raising it to -70
Where is action potential generated
Axon hillock
Action potentials are generated by
- The summation of converging inputs from the dendrites or
- Electrical stimulation (experimentally)
Hyperpolerisation is a membrane potential that’s
More negative than resting membrane potential (RMP)
Ways of achieving hyperpolarisation
- Injection of small negative current
- Positive ions move out
- Negative ions move in
Depolarisation is membrane potential that’s
More positive than Resting membrane potential (RMP)
Ways of achieving depolarisation
- Injection of small positive current
- Positive ions move in
What is conductance
Small depolarisation to a neuron
Conductance affects what part of the axon the most
Positivity is bigger towards the injection site than away
What is decremental conductance
As you go along the axon conductance is decaying
What is an action potential in relation to depolarisation
Increase the size of the stimulation and therefore the degree of depolarisation
What is the threshold of an action potential
-50mV
What does the term voltage gated channels mean
Opened when the membrane becomes depolarised
Voltage clamp experiments use injecting a current into the axon to create
A steady membrane potential