Neurones and Nervous Coordination Flashcards
Neurones
What are neurones?
Neurones (nerve cells) are specialised cells adapted to rapidly carrying electrochemical changes called nerve impulses from one part of the body to the other.
Neurones
What is a neurone?
Neurones (nerve cells) are specialised cells adapted to rapidly carrying electrochemical changes called nerve impulses from one part of the body to another
What are the three neurones?
- sensory
- relay
- motor
What is the sensory neurone connected to?
the sensory receptor
What is the role of the Sensory neurone?
Nervous/ electrical Impulses are generated in response to a stimulus and passes to relay or motor neurone
Draw and label a sensory neurone
- cell body - in the middle of the neurone
- longer dendrites
- dendron (comes before the cell body)
- Axon (after cell body)
- nodes of ranvier
- myelin sheath
- Schwaan cell
What is the role of a motor neurone?
transmits signals from the CNS to effectors
Draw and label a motor neurone
- short dendrites
- one long axon extending away from the cell body
- nodes of ranvier
- Myelin sheath
- Schwaan cell
- Axon terminal
What is the role of a relay neurone?
also known as an intermediate neurone, transmits signals from sensory to motor neurone
Draw a label a motor neurone
- cell body
- small axons
- small dendrites
What is the role of the Cell body?
Contains all the usual cell organelles, including a nucleus, mitochondria and lot’s of ER, which is involved in the synthesis of neurotransmitter molecules and proteins
What are dendrons and dendrites?
these are extensions of the cell body which subdivide into smaller branched fibres called dendrites, that carry nerve impulses towards the body
What is an axon?
an axon is a single long fibre that carries nerve impulses away from the cell body
What are Schwaan cells?
schwaan cells surround the axon, protecting it and providing electrical insulation. They also carry out phagocytosis and play a part in nerve regeneration. Schwaan cells wrap themselves around the axon many times, so that thin layers of their membrane build up around it
What is the myelin Sheath?
The myelin sheath, forms a covering over the axon and is made up of membranes of schwaan cells. These membranes are rich in a lipid known as myelin. Neurones with a myelin sheath are called myelinated neurones
What are nodes of ranvier?
Constrictions between adjacent Schwaan cells where there is no myelin sheath. The constrictions are 2-3μm long and occur every 1-3mm in humans
What is a nerve impulse?
a wave of self-propagating wave of electrical activity that travels along the axon membrane. It is temporary reversal of electrical difference across the axon membrane
What is the reversal between?
The resting potential and the action potential.
The Resting Potential
What is the resting potential?
When a neurone is in it’s resting state the outside of the neurone is more positively charged than the inside of the neurone. this is because there are more positive ions outside of the cell than inside.
When the outside is more positive than the inside of the cell, the membrane is..?
Polarised - there’s a difference in charge (called the potential difference or voltage) across the membrane.
What is the Voltage of the membrane when it’s at it’s resting potential?
The voltage across the membrane when it is at rest is called the resting potential - It’s about -70mV (milivolts)
How is a resting potential of -70mV maintained?
- the phospholipid bilayer of the axon plasma membrane prevents sodium and potassium ions diffusing across it
- sodium-potassium pump actively transports 3 Na+ out of the axon, 2K+ into the axon
- potassium ion channels allow facilitated diffusion of K+ out of the neurone, down their concentration gradient
How is a resting potential of -70mV produced?
- sodium-potassium pump actively transports 3 Na+ out of the axon/neurone and 2K+ into the axon
- There is a high concentration of sodium ions outside (tissue fluid surrounding axon), and a high concentration of potassium ions inside the axon
- The outside of the membrane is relatively more positively charged than the inside, which establishes and electrochemical gradient. The membrane is said to be polarised, meaning it has an electrochemical gradient or voltage (potential difference) across it.
- There are also voltage-gated sodium and potassium ions imbedded within the membrane. More Voltage-gated sodium channels are closed and more Voltage gated potassium ion channels are open
5.some sodium ions diffuse naturally back into the axon but more potassium ion channels are open
- Therefore, High rate of K+ by facilitated diffusion, out of the axon down a concentration gradient
- Outward diffusion of K+ makes the inside of the membrane more negative compared to the outside.
Action Potential
What triggers an action potential to occur?
when a neurone is stimulated, Voltage-gated sodium ion channels in the cell membrane open, if the stimulus is big enough, it will cause a change/reversal in potential difference. The membrane is said to be depolarised
How is an action potential generated?
- At the resting potential, some Potassium voltage-gated channels are permanently open but sodium voltage-gated channels are closed
- The energy of a stimulus excites the neurones cell membrane, causing Voltage-gated sodium ion channels to open. the membrane becomes more permeable to sodium ions, so sodium ions diffuse down into the axon down the sodium ion electrochemical gradient. this makes the inside of the axon less negative, being positively charged.
- Thus triggers a reversal in potential difference across the membrane, causing depolarisation of the cell membrane
- if the potential difference reaches the threshold value around -55mV, more sodium ion channels open, so more sodium ions diffuse into the neurone.
- Once an action potential of around +40mV has been established, the voltage gates on the sodium ion channels close and voltage gated potassium ion channels open, the membrane is more permeable to potassium ions
- with these channels now open, the electrochemical gradient that was now preventing further outward movement of K+ is now reversed, causing more K+ to diffuse out of the neurone, starting to repolarise the axon
- Hyperpolarisation - the outward diffusion of these potassium ions causes a temporary overshoot of the electrochemical gradient, with the inside of the axon being more negatively charged to outside (than the resting potential)
- voltage-gated potassium ion channels now close and the activities of the sodium-potassium pump, causes sodium ions to be pumped out of the membrane and potassium ions into the axon.
- The resting potential of -65mV is restablished, and the axon is said to be repolarised.
Briefly describe the passage of an axon potential down an unmyelinated neurone. (intro)
- Once an action potential has been created, an action potential rapidly moves along the axon
- The size of the axon potential remains the same from one end of the axon to the other
- nothing physically moves from one side to the other
- when one region of an axon produces an axon potential, and becomes depolarised, it acts as a stimulus for the next region of the axon
- therefore, action potentials are generated across the axon membrane in this manner
- the action potential is thus a travelling wave of depolarisation
Describe fully how an action potential is propagated along an unmyelinated neurone?
- at this point, the neurone is at rest. so conc. of Na+ = high compared to inside, whereas K+ = high inside compared to outside. However more positive ions on outside. so membrane = polarised.
- A stimulus causes a sudden influx of sodium ions hence a reversal of charge on the axon membrane. This is the action potential and the membrane is depolarised
- the localised electrical currents established by the influx of sodium ions cause the opening of Sodium voltage-gated channels a little further along the axon. The resulting influx of sodium ions in this region causes depolarisation.
- Behind this region of depolarisation, the sodium-voltage gated channels close and potassium ion channels open. potassium ions begin to leave the axon down their electrochemical gradient. So once initiated, the depolarisation moves along the membrane.
- the action potential is propagated in the same way further along the axon. the outward movement of potassium ions has continued to the extent that the axon membrane behind the action potential has returned to it’s original charge (+ outside, - outside). The membrane has been repolarised. so has returned to it’s resting potential. ready for a new stimulus
state the difference between the propagation of an action potential down an myelinated and unmyelinated neurone?
action potentials move faster along myelinated neurones compared to unmyelinated neurones
describe the role of the myelin sheath during the propagation of an action potential?
the myelin sheath is an insulating layer of fatty material secreted by schwaan cells. Na+ and K+ ions cannot pass through this thin layer, so prevents the movement of ions into and out of the axon, preventing depolarisation. (so action potentials)
Describe fully how an action potential is propagated along a myelinated neurone?
- action potentials move down the neurone via saltatory conduction
- the myelin sheath is an insulating layer of fatty material secreted by schwaan cells. Na+ and K+ ions cannot pass through this thin layer, so prevents the movement of ions into and out of the axon, preventing depolarisation. (so action potentials)
- depolarisation only occurs at the nodes of Ranvier
- and action potentials can jump from node to node due to localised electrical circuits between adjacent nodes
- this process in known as saltatory conduction
What is the nerve impulse?
the transmission of an action potential along the axon of a neurone.
What are the factors affecting the speed at which an action potentials travels?
- the myelin sheath
- diameter of the axon
- temperature
Describe how the myelin sheath affects the transmission of an action potential?
the myelin sheath acts as an electrical insulator, preventing an action potential from forming in the part of the axon covered by myelin. it jumps from one node of Ranvier to the other (saltatory conduction). This increases the speed of conduction from 30m s-1 in an unmyelinated neurone to 90 ms-1 in a similar myelinated one.
Describe how the diameter of the axon affects the speed at which an action potential travels along a neurone?
the greater the diameter of the axon, the faster the speed of conductance. this is due to less leakage of ions from a large axon. (leakage makes membrane harder to maintain)
Describe how the temperature affects the speed of an action potential down an axon?
Temperature affects the rate of diffusion of ions and therefore the higher the temperature, the faster the nerve impulse. The energy for active transport comes from respiration. Respiration, like sodium-potassium pump is controlled by enzymes. enzymes function more rapidly at higher temperatures and above a certain temperature, they are denatured and impulses fail to be conducted at all
What type of animals is this crucial for?
in cold-blooded animals (ectotherms), whose body temperature varies in accordance to the environment
What is the All or Nothing principle?
- nerve impulses are described as all or nothing responses.
- there is a certain level of stimulus. called the threshold value (-55mV) , which triggers an action potential
- below the threshold value no action potential is generated
- Any stimulus above the threshold value above the threshold will succeed in generating an action potential and so a nerve impulse will travel
Explain the use of this?
this is important, s it makes sure animals only respond to large enough stimuli rather than responding to every slight change in the environment, which would overwhelm them.
In which two ways can an organism perceive the size of a stimulus?
- By the number of impulses passing in a given time. the larger the stimulus, more impulses generated in a given time
- by having different neurones with different threshold values. the brain interprets the number and type of neurones that pass impulses, as a result of a given stimulus and thereby determines it’s size
What is the refractory period?
once an action potential has been generated, the membrane enters a refractory period when it can’t be stimulated, because sodium voltage-gated ion channels are closed and can;t be opened