BIOA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Conformational Change, Phosphate, Atp Hydrolysis
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BIOA02H3 Full Course Notes
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The neuromuscular junction is the synaptic connection between a motor nerve and a skeletal muscle. Nerves that regulate skeletal muscle function are called motor nerves. When an action potential arrives at the nerve (axon) terminal, it causes the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ach) Acetylcholine then binds to an acetylcholine receptor on the post-synaptic membrane (i. e. , the muscle cell membrane; called the sarcolemma) In this case, the ach receptor is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (or simply a nicotinic receptor) because it is also activated by nicotine. The nicotinic receptor is a na+ channel and the binding of ach to the receptor opens the channel and. Na+ enters the muscle cell, depolarizes it and triggers an action potential in the muscle cell. They are very long, multi-nucleated cells that are packaged, with connective tissue, into bundles called fascicles. In turn, the whole muscle consists of multiple fascicles surrounded by layers of connective tissue.