NEURONAL COMMUNICATION Flashcards
what is a sensory receptor and where are they found?
detect changes in the surrounding and are energy TRANSDUCERS
found on our senses (skin, eyes, tongue, ears)
what is meant by the term “TRANSDUCERS”
conversion of energy from one form to another
define nerve impulses
electrical response created by sensory receptors
what type of sensor is PACINIAN CORPUSCLE?
pressure sensor, detect changes in pressure
list types of sensory receptors:
light sensor
temperature sensor
pressure sensor
vibration sensor
olfactory sensor
what type of channel do nervous cells have?
sodium and potassium channels
how is an inactive cell at resting state defined?
polarised since negatively charged inside
what is meant by resting potential
when voltage inside is -70 mV meaning that more K+ and Na+ are outside than inside
the potential difference across the membrane when the neuron is at rest.
how is resting potential maintained?
by the active sodium-potassium pump that ACTIVELY PUMPS OUT 3 NA+ AND 2 K+ IN
POLARISED
when cell is inactive and is negatively charged inside compared to outside
DEPOLARISATION
the proces through which the inside of the cell becomes less negative compared to the outside
what is an action potential?
the increase in voltage beyond the resting potential
what is required for the creation of an active potential?
a big enough stimulus –> enough opening of Na+ –> enough entrance of Na+. –> change in potential difference –> depolarization
needs to reach a threshold
why does the increase in voltage occur?
due to the membrane becoming more permeable to Na+
describe process of active potential
- stimulus which causes an increase of voltage beyond -60 (-55 mV)
- Depolarization begins (more Na+ gate opens and more Na ions enter)
- when enough Na+ entered –> action potential is reached
- Action potential is when the voltage reaches 40 mV , is the peak so Na+ gate shut.
5.Repolarization begins –> K+ gate opens and fload out
6.repolarization continues until going below the resting potential —> REFRACTORY PERIOD (overshoot of K ions)
- goes back to resting potential
what is the refractory period and why is it important?
just after the action potential.
it occurs for a short period of time it allows the cell to recover after an action potential
it ensures that an action potential is transmitted in one direction
allows the axon to remain unresponsive during hyperpolarisation
how does the refractory period prevent the action potential from flowing backward?
refractory period will cause the part of the axon that just generated an action potential to become UNRESPONSIVE, the traveling action potential cannot generate another action potential in the retrograde direction, because the only excitable region available is in the anterograde direction to the terminal
how is the resting potential maintained?
3 Na+ leaving for every 2 K+ moving in since the membrane is more permeable to K+
through voltage-gated channels sodium-potassium pump
what does the leaving and entering of Na+ and K+ create?
an electrochemical gradient