Topic 6B - Nervous Coordination Flashcards
How is the movement of sodium and potassium ions maintained? What type of transport do they use?
Sodium-potassium pump - active transport
Potassium ion channels - facilitated diffusion
Why is the membrane polarised?
There is a difference in charge across the membrane
What do sodium potassium pumps do? How does it transport it?
Use active transport
Move 3 sodium ions out of the neurone for every 2 potassium ions moved in, using ATP.
What do potassium ion channels do?
Allow facilitated diffusion of potassium ions out of the neurone down the concentration gradient.
How is a sodium ion electrochemical gradient produced?
Membrane isn’t permeable to sodium ions so cant diffuse back in
More positive Na+ outside of cell than inside
Why do potassium ions diffuse back out through the ion channels?
Most channels open at rest
Membrane is more permeable
What is an action potential?
Rapid change in potential difference, cell becomes depolarised
What are the 5 stages of an action potential?
Stimulus
Depolarisation
Repolarisation
Hyperpolarisation
Resting potential
What happens during the stimulus?
Cell membrane excited, causing Na channels to open
Membrane permeable to sodium
Sodium diffuse down sodium electrochemical gradient
Inside of neurone less negative
What happens during depolarisation?
If potential difference reaches threshold, more Na channels open
More Na diffuse into neurone causing depolarisation
What happens during repolarisation?
Sodium ions channels close and potassium ion channels open
K+ ions diffuse down conc gradient
Begins getting the membrane back to resting potential
What happens during hyperpolarisation?
K+ channels slow to close
A few too many K + ions diffuse out of neurone
Potential difference becomes more negative than resting potential
What happens during the resting potential?
Ion channels are reset
NaK+ pump returns membrane to resting potential
Does this by pumping Na+ out and K+ in
Maintains resting potential until membrane is excited again
What is the refractory period?
Time delay between action potentials
So they dont overlap but pass along as discrete impulses
Potentials are unidirectional and are all closed at the same time
What causes waves of depolarisation?
Some Na ions diffuse sideways into neurone
This causes Na ions in next channel of the neurone to open and Na ions diffuse into that part
Why do the waves move away from the parts of the membrane in the refractory period?
These parts cant fire an action potential
What is the all or nothing principle?
Once the threshold is reached, an action potential will be fired
(Always fires with the same change in voltage, no matter how big the stimulus is)
What will a bigger stimulus cause?
More action potentials to occur
What does the myelin sheath do?
Electrical impulse insulator
What is the sheath made of in the PNS?
Schwann cells
What is between the myelin sheath? What does it do?
Nodes of ranvier
Where sodium ion channels are concentrated
Where does depolarisation occur in Saltatory conduction?
At the nodes of ranvier
How does an impulse travel in a non-myelinated neurone?
Impulse a travels as a wave along a whole length of the axon
How does axon diameter affect conduction?
Bigger diameter conduction will work better as there is less resistance
Depolarisation reaches other parts quicker
How does temperature affect conduction?
Conduction increases and ions diffuse faster
To an extent - denature at over 40C
What is a synapse?
The junction between the neurone membrane and another and an effector cell
What is the synaptic cleft
Gap between syanpses
What is the swelling on the presynaptic neurone called?
The synaptic knob
What does the synaptic knob contain?
Vesciles filled with neurotransmitters
What happens at the end of an action potential?
Neurotransmitters are released into the synaptic cleft and diffuse across and attach to the receptor cells on the post synaptic membrane
What do receptors only on the postsynaptic membrane do?
Make sure impulses are unidirectional
Remove neurotransmitters so response doesn’t keep happening
What does acetylecholine do?
Binds to cholinergic receptors
What happens after the arrival of the action potential? (Cholinergic synapse)
Arrives at presynaptic membrane
Stimulates voltage-gated Ca ion channels to open
Ca diffuse into synaptic knob