PSY2001 Biological Psychology
Lecture 2: Action Potentials
11 Sep 2023
1.2 The Nerve Impulse
• The speed of nerve impulses ranges from less
than 1 meter/second to 100 meters/second
– A touch on the shoulder reaches the brain sooner
than a touch on the foot
The Membrane of a Neuron
• The membrane is selectively permeable, allowing some
chemicals to pass more freely than others
• Embedded in the membrane are protein channels that
permit certain ions to cross through the membrane at a
controlled rate
Cross-section view
The Membrane of a Neuron
• Several biologically important ions, including sodium
(Na+), potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), and chloride (Cl-),
pass through channels in the membrane
When a channel opens, it
permits some type of ion
to cross the membrane.
When it closes, it prevents
passage of that ion. ©
Argosy Publishing Inc.
The Resting Potential of the Neuron
• The resting potential of a neuron refers to the
state of the neuron prior to the sending of a
nerve impulse
• When the membrane is at rest:
– Sodium channels are closed
– Potassium channels are partially closed allowing the
slow passage of potassium
• At rest, the membrane maintains an electrical
gradient known as polarization
– A difference in the electrical charge inside and outside
of the cell
The Resting Potential of the Neuron
• At rest, the inside of the membrane is slightly negative
with respect to the outside (approximately -70 millivolts)
Concentration Gradient
• A concentration gradient refers to the difference in
distributions of ions.
• There is a higher probability of ions moving from a high-
concentration place to a low-concentration place than
the reverse. The net movement is called diffusion.
• Video: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-
energy-and-transport/hs-passive-and-active-transport/v/concentration-
gradients
Electrical Gradient
• A positive charge moves from the higher to the lower
electric potential.
• A negative charge moves from the lower to the higher
electric potential.
Figure from: https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/155186/how-can-
a-negative-charge-move-towards-a-position-of-a-higher-electric-potential
Sodium and Potassium Gradients for a Resting
Membrane
Electrical and Concentration Gradients
• When at rest, both the electrical gradient and the
concentration gradient tend to pull sodium ions
into the cell. But the sodium channels are
closed.
• The electrical gradient tends to pull potassium
ions into the cells. However, potassium is more
concentrated inside the cell than outside, so the
concentration gradient tends to drive it out.
Overall, they slowly leak out.
The Sodium-Potassium Pump
• The sodium-potassium pump is a protein
complex
– Continually pumps three sodium ions out of the cells
while drawing two potassium ions into the cell
– Helps to maintain the electrical gradient and the
distribution of ions
The Action Potential
• The resting potential remains stable until the neuron is
stimulated
– Hyperpolarization: increasing the polarization or the difference
between the electrical charge of two places
– Depolarization: decreasing the polarization towards zero
– The threshold of excitation: a level above which any stimulation
produces a massive depolarization
Depolarization
Hyperpolarization
The Action Potential
• Stimulation of the neuron past the threshold of
excitation triggers a nerve impulse or action
potential
– A rapid depolarization of the neuron
– The action potential threshold varies from one neuron
to another, but is consistent for each neuron
Voltage-Gated Channels
• Membrane channels whose permeability depends upon
the voltage difference across the membrane (sodium
and potassium channels)
• As the membrane becomes depolarized, both the
sodium and the potassium channels begin to open
The Movement of Sodium and Potassium Ions
During an Action Potential
• When the depolarization reaches the
threshold of the membrane, the sodium
channels open wide enough for sodium
to flow freely
• Driven by both the concentration gradient
and the electrical gradient, the sodium
ions enter the cell rapidly, until the
electrical potential across the membrane
passes beyond zero to a reversed
polarity (i.e., a nerve impulse)
• After an action potential occurs, sodium
channels are quickly closed
The Movement of Sodium and Potassium Ions
During an Action Potential
• The potassium channels remain open after the sodium
channels close, enough potassium ions leave to drive
the membrane beyond its usual resting level to a
temporary hyperpolarization
• The sodium-potassium pump later restores the original
distribution of ions
The Movement of Sodium and Potassium Ions
During an Action Potential
Restoring the Original Distribution of Ions
• After the membrane returns to its resting potential, the
inside of the neuron has slightly more sodium ions and
slightly fewer potassium ions than before
• Eventually, the sodium-potassium pump restores the
original distribution of ions, but that process takes time
• An unusually rapid series of action potentials can lead to
a buildup of sodium within the axon
– Can be toxic to a cell, but only in rare instances such
as stroke or after the use of certain drugs
The All-or-None Law
• Action potentials are equal in intensity and speed
within a given neuron
• The amplitude and velocity of an action potential
are independent of the intensity of the stimulus
that initiated it
– Imagine flushing a toilet: You have to make a press of
at least a certain strength (the threshold), but pressing
harder does not make the toilet flush faster or more
vigorously
The All-or-None Law
• Action potentials vary from one neuron to another
in terms of amplitude, velocity, and shape
Figure from: Physica Scripta
Refractory Periods
• After an action potential, a neuron has a
refractory period during which time the neuron
resists the production of another action potential
– The absolute refractory period: the first part of the
period in which the membrane cannot produce an
action potential
– The relative refractory period: the second part, in
which it takes a stronger than usual stimulus to trigger
an action potential
Propagation of an Action Potential
• In a motor neuron, the action potential begins at the
axon hillock (a swelling where the axon exits the soma)
• Propagation of the action potential: the transmission of
the action potential down the axon
– The action potential does not directly travel down the axon, but is
regenerated at points along the axon so that it is not weakened
Propagation of an Action Potential
As an action potential
occurs at one point on the
axon, enough sodium
enters to depolarize the
next point to its threshold,
producing an action
potential at that point. In
this manner the action
potential flows along the
axon, remaining at equal
strength throughout. ©
Argosy Publishing Inc.
An Axon Surrounded by a Myelin Sheath
The myelin sheath of axons
is interrupted by short
unmyelinated sections called
nodes of Ranvier.
The anatomy is distorted
here to show several nodes.
In fact, the distance between
nodes is generally at least
100 times as long as a node.
© Argosy Publishing Inc.
The Myelin Sheath
• Myelin is an insulating material composed of fats and
proteins
• At each node of Ranvier, the action potential is
regenerated by a chain of positively charged ions
pushed along by the previous segment
A B
An action potential at Node A will push positively charged ions to
Node B (inside the axon) and result in depolarization at Node B
Saltatory Conduction
• The “jumping” of the action potential from node
to node
– Provides rapid conduction of impulses
– Conserves energy for the cell
Multiple Sclerosis
• A disease in which the myelin sheath is destroyed
– Lacks sodium channels where the myelin used to be (≠ an axon
that never had a myelin sheath)
– Most action potentials die out between one node and the next
– Associated with poor muscle coordination and sometimes visual
impairments
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Chapter 2: Synapses
47
2.1 The Concept of the Synapse
• In the late 1800s, Ramón y Cajal anatomically
demonstrated a narrow gap separating one neuron from
another.
• In 1906, Charles Scott Sherrington physiologically
demonstrated that communication between one neuron
and the next differs from communication along a single
axon. He inferred a specialized gap between neurons
and introduced the term synapse to describe it.
• Neurons communicate by transmitting chemicals at
synapses.
Sherrington’s Research
• Investigated how neurons communicate with
each other by studying reflexes (automatic
muscular responses to stimuli) in a process
known as a reflex arc
• Leg flexion reflex: a sensory neuron excites a
second neuron, which excites a motor neuron,
which excites a muscle
The Relationship Among a Sensory Neuron,
Intrinsic Neuron, and Motor Neuron
Sherrington’s Evidence for Synaptic Delay
An impulse traveling through a synapse in the spinal cord is slower
than one traveling a similar distance along an uninterrupted axon.
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potential (EPSP)
• Presynaptic neuron: neuron that delivers the
synaptic transmission
• Postsynaptic neuron: neuron that receives the
message
• Excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP):
graded potential (depolarization) that varies in
magnitude and do not follow the all-or-none law
– Decays over time and space
– Cumulative effect
Temporal Summation
• Sherrington observed that repeated stimuli over
a short period of time produced a stronger
response
• Thus, the idea of temporal summation
– Repeated stimuli can have a cumulative effect and
can produce a nerve impulse when a single stimuli is
too weak
Spatial Summation
• Sherrington also noticed that several small
stimuli in a similar location produced a reflex
when a single stimuli did not
• Thus, idea of spatial summation
– Synaptic input from several locations can have a
cumulative effect and trigger a nerve impulse
Recordings From a Postsynaptic Neuron During
Synaptic Activation
Sherrington’s Inference of Inhibitory Synapses
• When a flexor muscle is excited, input to the extensor
muscle is inhibited
• https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/electrical-
measurement-muscle-activity
Extensor Resting/Inhibition
muscle
Flexor
muscle Excitation
Figure from: https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/chapter/10-
3-muscle-fiber-contraction-and-relaxation/
Sherrington’s Inference of Inhibitory Synapses
Sherrington inferred that the
interneuron that excited a motor
neuron to the flexor muscle also
inhibited a motor neuron connected
to the extensor muscle. © Argosy
Publishing Inc.
Extensor
muscle
Flexor
muscle
Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential (IPSP)
• Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP): a
temporary hyperpolarization of a membrane
– Occurs when synaptic input selectively opens the
gates for positively charged potassium ions to leave
the cell, or negatively charged chloride ions to enter
the cells
– Serves as an active “brake” that suppresses
excitation
Inhibitory Postsynaptic Potential (IPSP)
IPSP may result from exit
of potassium ions (K+) or
entry of chloride ions (Cl-)
when ion channels are
selectively opened.
Figure from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membrane_potential
EPSP, IPSP, and Action Potentials
Graded potentials (EPSPs and
IPSPs) travel from dendrites
and cell body to axon hillock
and the summation of their
effects decides whether or not
an action potential will be fired
along the axon.
Spontaneous Firing Rate
• The periodic production of action potentials even
without synaptic input
– EPSPs increase the number of action potentials
above the spontaneous firing rate
– IPSPs decrease the number of action potentials
below the spontaneous firing rate
