5.3 Neuronal Communication POWERPOINT
5.3 Neuronal Communication POWERPOINT
5.3 Neuronal Communication POWERPOINT
Communication
What do you
know about the
nervous system?
Nervous system is a complete communication network
around the body
Rings deform
Some proteins are channels that allow the movement of ions via
facilitated diffusion
Other proteins are transport proteins that can actively move ions
across the membrane against their concentration gradient. This
requires ATP
ATP re-cap
ATP ADP + Pi
- Therefore potassium ions tend to diffuse out of Potential difference across membrane
the cell is -60mV
Neurones at rest
Sodium – potassium pump
Neurones at rest
OUT
IN
These can be opened to alter the permeability of the nerve membrane to sodium ions
Sodium ions move down their concentration gradient into the cell
Cell becomes less negative than usual = DEPOLARISATION known as a ‘generator potential’
Answers
1. Ions are charged particles and cannot diffuse through the
phospholipid bilayer.
2. Sensory receptors respond to changes in the environment.
A constant sound is no longer a change. The receptor
or the sensory neurone will become habituated to the sound
and an impulse no longer reaches the brain.
3. Particles must be moved against their concentration
gradient. This requires active transport – which requires
energy in the form of ATP.
4. Sodium ions will diffuse rapidly down a concentration
gradient even without the immediate availability of ATP.
5. Diffusion that is helped in some way by a protein. This is
usually by supplying a pore through which the ions can
diffuse easily.
Action Potentials
When a few gated channels open only a few sodium ions
enter the cell – small depolarisation
- Function of neurones
- Structure of neurones
- Advantages of myelination
How are nerve
cells specialised
for their job?
Dendrites receive messages from other
neurones
B – the membrane is polarised with the inside of the cell being -60mV compared to the
outside. There are more Na+ ions outside than inside the cell and more K+ ions inside the cell
than outside
C – the potential difference across the plasma membrane is +40mV. The inside is positive
compared to the outside of the cell.
D – sodium ion channels open and some sodium ions diffuse into the cell
E – positive feedback causes nearby voltage-gated sodium ion channels to open and more Na+
ions flood in. The inside of the cell is now positively charged in comparison to the outside
H – the inside of the cell is now less negative with respect to the outside and reaches the
threshold value of -50mV
The size of the action potential has nothing to do with the intensity
of the stimulus
Meissner’s
Corpuscles detect
light touch
Pacinian Corpuscles
need substantial
pressure to be
stimulated
Myelination
Postsynaptic neurone
- Responds to the neurotransmitter
Neurotransmitter
- A signalling molecule
Synaptic cleft
- Junction between two neurones
Acetylcholine
It is a neurotransmitter
Vesicles containing
acetylcholine.
Be really clear that it is not the vesicles crossing the cleft. The vesicles fuse with the
membrane and release the molecules of acetylcholine by exocytosis.
• Sufficient EPSPs are required to reach the threshold potential –
This is called Summation.
• This could be from one presynaptic bulb (temporal summation) or
from several presynaptic bulbs (spatial summation).
Acetylcholinesterase
If acetylcholine is left in the cleft, it will continue to open the sodium
channels in the post – synaptic membrane
These are then recycled by diffusing into the presynaptic bulb and
being recombined to form acetylcholine using ATP.
This is then stored in vesicles until the next action potential arrives.
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
Atropine
Is an acetylcholine receptor antagonist, which
prevents the excess acetylcholine from continually
activating the acetylcholine.
Inhibitory post-synaptic potentials
Pre synaptic neurons can produce:
Inhibitory post-synaptic potentials IPSPs
OR
Excitatory post-synaptic potentials EPSPs
This enables greater control over responses to stimuli.
Inhibitory post-synaptic potentials IPSPs
Eg. GABA