PSY 3061 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Resting Potential, Neurotransmission, Axon Terminal
Document Summary
Neurophysiology: nerve cells (or neurons, excitable tissue, glial cells (glia, support neuronal structure and function. [within-cell neurotransmission: electrical signaling: all living cells are more negative on the inside (intracellular space) than out (extracellular space), neurons have two activity levels, resting potential. 70 millivolts (mv) is the balanced state of electrochemical forces: action potential. A brief flip in the polarity (+50mv) of the trans-membrane electrical potential electrical impulse . [resting membrane potential: the balance of electrochemical forces across a selectively permeable membrane creates a resting membrane potential, selective permeability, concentration gradient, electrical gradient, sodium-potassium pump. Intracellular and extracellular space are separated by a membrane: channels allow for certain chemicals to pass, some have an electrical charge, ions. Na+ / k: some do not. [resting membrane potential concentration gradient: atoms and molecules diffuse from places where they are highly concentrated to where they are less concentrated. If there is a wall (membrane), some molecules do not pass through freely.
