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    Shahzeb Physiology Assignment 3

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    Mati ullah Khan
    The document discusses the topic of action potentials in neurons. It defines action potentials, describes the steps in their generation and propagation, and discusses the phases of an action potential. It also covers refractory periods, propagation, synapses, and key aspects of how action potentials are triggered by stimuli and transmit signals in the nervous system.

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    Shahzeb Physiology Assignment 3

    Uploaded by

    Mati ullah Khan
    19 views8 pages
    The document discusses the topic of action potentials in neurons. It defines action potentials, describes the steps in their generation and propagation, and discusses the phases of an action potential. It also covers refractory periods, propagation, synapses, and key aspects of how action potentials are triggered by stimuli and transmit signals in the nervous system.

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    The document discusses the topic of action potentials in neurons. It defines action potentials, describes the steps in their generation and propagation, and discusses the phases of an action potential. It also covers refractory periods, propagation, synapses, and key aspects of how action potentials are triggered by stimuli and transmit signals in the nervous system.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    19 views8 pages

    Shahzeb Physiology Assignment 3

    Uploaded by

    Mati ullah Khan
    The document discusses the topic of action potentials in neurons. It defines action potentials, describes the steps in their generation and propagation, and discusses the phases of an action potential. It also covers refractory periods, propagation, synapses, and key aspects of how action potentials are triggered by stimuli and transmit signals in the nervous system.

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    NAME: SHAHZEB YOUSAF

    SEMESTER: 1st DPT


    REG NO: SU-20-01-107-006
    ASSIGNMENT: 3
    TEACHER: DR.WALEED KHAN
    SUBJECT: PHYSIOLOGY
    DATE: 5/1/2021

    TOPIC:
    ACTION POTENTIAL:
    Definition: Action potentials are nerve signals.
    Neurons generate and conduct these signals along their
    processes in order to transmit them to the target tissues.
    Upon stimulation, they will either be stimulated, inhibited, or
    modulated in some way. structure and all the types of the
    neurons with the following study unit.
    STEPS: But what causes the action potential? From
    an electrical aspect, it is caused by a stimulus with certain
    value expressed in millivolts [mV]. Not all stimuli can cause
    an action potential. Adequate stimulus must have a
    sufficient electrocal value which will reduce the negativity of
    the nerve cell to the threshold of the action potential. In this
    manner, there are subthreshold, threshold, and
    suprathreshold stimuli. Subthreshold stimuli cannot cause
    an action potential. Threshold stimuli are of enough energy
    or potential to produce an action potential (nerve
    impulse). Suprathreshold stimuli also produce an action
    potential, but their strength is higher than the threshold
    stimuli. 
    So, an action potential is generated when a stimulus
    changes the membrane potential to the values of threshold
    potential. The threshold potential is usually around -50 to
    -55 mV. It is important to know that the action potential
    behaves upon the all-or-none law. This means that any
    subthreshold stimulus will cause nothing, while threshold
    and suprathreshold stimuli produce a full response of the
    excitable cell. 
    Is an action potential different depending on whether it’s
    caused by threshold or suprathreshold potential? The
    answer is no. The length and amplitude of an action
    potential are always the same. However, increasing the
    stimulus strength causes an increase in the frequency of
    an action potential. An action potential propagates along
    the nerve fiber without decreasing or weakening of
    amplitude and length. In addition, after one action potential
    is generated, neurons become refractory to stimuli for a
    certain period of time in which they cannot generate
    another action potential.

    PHASES: From the aspect of ions, an action potential


    is caused by temporary changes in membrane permeability
    for diffusible ions. These changes cause ion channels to
    open and the ions to decrease their concentration
    gradients. The value of threshold potential depends on the
    membrane permeability, intra- and extracellular
    concentration of ions, and the properties of the cell
    membrane.

    An action potential has several phases:


    1: HYPOPOLARIZATION:
    2: DEPOLARIZATION:
    3: OVERSHOOT:
    4: REPOLARIZATION:
    5: HYPERPOLARIZATION:

    HYPOPOLARIZATION is the initial increase of the


    membrane potential to the value of the threshold potential.
    The threshold potential opens voltage-gated sodium
    channels and causes a large influx of sodium ions. This
    phase is called the DEPOLARIZATION. During
    depolarization, the inside of the cell becomes more and
    more electropositive, until the potential gets closer the
    electrochemical equilibrium for sodium of +61 mV. This
    phase of extreme positivity is the OVERSHOOT PHASE.
    After the overshoot, the sodium permeability suddenly
    decreases due to the closing of its channels. The
    overshoot value of the cell potential opens voltage-gated
    potassium channels, which causes a large potassium
    efflux, decreasing the cell’s electropositivity. This phase is
    the REPOLARIZATION PHASE, whose purpose is to
    restore the resting membrane potential. Repolarization
    always leads first to HYPERPOLARIZATION, a state in
    which the membrane potential is more negative than the
    default membrane potential. But soon after that, the
    membrane establishes again the values of membrane
    potential. After reviewing the roles of ions, we can now
    define the threshold potential more precisely as the value
    of the membrane potential at which the voltage-gated
    sodium channels open. In excitable tissues, the threshold
    potential is around 10 to 15 mV less than the resting
    membrane potential.

    Refractory period: The refractory period is the


    time after an action potential is generated, during which the
    excitable cell cannot produce another action potential.
    There are two subphases of this period, absolute and
    relative refractoriness.

    (1): Absolute refractoriness: Absolute


    refractoriness overlaps the depolarization and around 2/3
    of repolarization phase. A new action potential cannot be
    generated during depolarization because all the voltage-
    gated sodium channels are already opened or being
    opened at their maximum speed. During early
    repolarization, a new action potential is impossible since
    the sodium channels are inactive and need the resting
    potential to be in a closed state, from which they can be in
    an open state once again. Absolute refractoriness ends
    when enough sodium channels recover from their inactive
    state.

    (2): Relative refractoriness: Relative refractoriness is


    the period when the generation of a new action potential is
    possible, but only upon a suprathreshold stimulus. This
    period overlaps the final 1/3 of repolarization.

    PROPAGATION OF ACTION
    POTENTIAL: An action potential is generated in
    the body of the neuron and propagated through its axon.
    Propagation doesn’t decrease or affect the quality of the
    action potential in any way, so that the target tissue gets
    the same impulse no matter how far they are from neuronal
    body.
    The action potential generates at one spot of the cell
    membrane. It propagates along the membrane with every
    next part of the membrane being sequentially depolarized.
    This means that the action potential doesn’t move but
    rather causes a new action potential of the adjacent
    segment of the neuronal membrane.
    We need to emphasize that the action potential always
    propagates forward, never backwards. This is due to the
    refractoriness of the parts of the membrane that were
    already depolarized, so that the only possible direction of
    propagation is forward. Because of this, an action potential
    always propagates from the neuronal body, through the
    axon to the target tissue.
    The speed of propagation largely depends on the thickness
    of the axon and whether it’s myelinated or not. The larger
    the diameter, the higher the speed of propagation. The
    propagation is also faster if an axon is myelinated. Myelin
    increases the propagation speed because it increases the
    thickness of the fiber. In addition, myelin enables saltatory
    conduction of the action potential, since only the Ranvier
    nodes depolarize, and myelin nodes are jumped over. 
    In unmyelinated fibers, every part of the axonal membrane
    needs to undergo depolarization, making the propagation
    significantly slower.

    SYNAPSE: A synapse is a junction between the


    nerve cell and its target tissue. In humans, synapses
    are chemical, meaning that the nerve impulse is
    transmitted from the axon ending to the target tissue by the
    chemical substances called neurotransmitters (ligands). If a
    neurotransmitter stimulates the target cell to an action, then
    it is an excitatory neurotransmitter. On the other hand, if it
    inhibits the target cell, it is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.
    Depending on the type of target tissue, there are central
    and peripheral synapses. Central synapses are between
    two neurons in the central nervous system, while peripheral
    synapses occur between a neuron and muscle fiber,
    peripheral nerve, or gland.
    Each synapse consists of the:

     Presynaptic membrane – membrane of the terminal


    button of the nerve fiber 
     Postsynaptic membrane – membrane of the target
    cell 
     Synaptic cleft – a gap between the presynaptic and
    postsynaptic membranes
    Inside the terminal button of the nerve fiber are produced
    and stored numerous vesicles that contain
    neurotransmitters. When the presynaptic membrane is
    depolarized by an action potential, the calcium voltage-
    gated channels open. This leads to an influx of calcium,
    which changes the state of certain membrane proteins in
    the presynaptic membrane, and results with exocitosis of
    the neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft.
    The postsynaptic membrane contains receptors for the
    neurotransmitters. Once the neurotransmitter binds to the
    receptor, the ligand-gated channels of the postsynaptic
    membrane either open or close. These ligand-gated
    channels are the ion channels, and their opening or closing
    will cause a redistribution of ions in the postsynaptic cell.
    Depending on whether the neurotransmitter is excitatory or
    inhibitory, this will result with different responses.
    SUMMARY: The action potential is an explosion
    of electrical activity that is created by a depolarizing
    current. This means that some event (a stimulus) causes
    the resting potential to move toward 0 mV. ... Action
    potentials are caused when different ions cross the
    neuron membrane. A stimulus first causes sodium
    channels to open.

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