Chapter 3 (continuation) • Movement along the microtubules

from the cell body to the axon

terminal is known as anterograde
transport, and movement back to the
cell body from the periphery of the
neuron is known as retrograde
transport

The two most important pumps in neurons:

1. Sodium-potassium pumps help

maintain the differences in chemical
composition between the intracellular
and extracellular fluids.
- do a “prisoner exchange” across the
neural membrane by sending three • Microtubules have been implicated in
sodium ions out of the cell while the development of Alzheimer’s
collecting two potassium ions from disease
the extracellular environment. o characterized initially by
- This process comes at a high cost to memory loss, followed by
the neuron. Possibly as much as 20 to progressive decline in
40 percent of the energy required by cognitive and physical
the brain is used to run the sodium- functions, eventually leading
potassium pumps to death.
o the presence of
2. Calcium pumps perform a similar function,
neurofibrillary tangles
although they do not collect another type of
consisting of a protein called
ion in exchange for the calcium they pump
tau.
out of the cell.
o In a healthy brain, tau
Neural Cytoskeleton connects adjacent
microtubules and holds them
• Microtubules, which are formed in
in place. In Alzheimer’s
the shape of hollow tubes with a
disease, the tau levels
diameter of about 25 nm
become elevated (Baas &
(nanometers).
Qiang, 2005).
o responsible for the
o In response, an affected
movement of various
neuron adds molecules of
materials within the cell.
phosphate to the tau protein,
• Neurofilaments provide structural which causes it to disconnect
support, whereas microfilaments may from the microtubules.
be involved with structural changes
associated with learning.
 whereas the relatively
positive exterior attracts
• Diffusion force that moves molecules
them. Chloride finds its
from areas of high concentration to
equilibrium.
areas of low concentration.
• Sodium is found in greater
• Diffusion pressure moves molecules
concentration on the outside than on
along a concentration gradient from
the inside of the cell.
areas of high concentration to areas
o But unlike the cases of
of low concentration.
potassium and chloride,
• Another important cause of electrical force is not working
movement of molecules is electrical against diffusion but in the
force. As you may already know from same direction.
playing with magnets, opposite signs o The positive sodium ions
attract and like signs repel. Ions work should be very attracted to
the same way. the negative interior of the
• Potassium is found in larger cell. With both diffusion
concentrations on the inside of the pressure and electrical force
cell than on the outside. pushing sodium into the cell,
• Diffusion would move the potassium how do we account for the
ions along their concentration fact that most of the sodium
gradient from the inside (the area of is found on the outside? The
higher concentration) to the outside answer lies in the nature of
(the area of lower concentration) our very important neural
• However, diffusion pressure is membrane.
balanced by electrical force in this
case.
• Potassium is a positively charged ion.
As such, it is content to stay in the
negative environment on the inside of
the cell and reluctant to venture into
the relatively positive environment
outside the cell. The net distribution
of potassium reflects a balance, or
equilibrium, between diffusion
pressure and electrical force.
• Chloride is the mirror image of
potassium.
o Chloride, a negatively charged
ion, is more concentrated
outside the cell than inside it.
Therefore, diffusion pressure
works to push chloride into
the cell.
o Once again, diffusion is
counteracted by electrical
force. The negative interior of • Action potentials originate in the axon
the cell repels the negatively hillock and then travel the length of
charged chloride ions, the axon to the axon terminal.
 • The arrival of action potentials at the • Receiving neurons receive multiple
axon terminal signals the release of messages from other neurons, and
neurotransmitters from the synaptic these messages determine if an
vesicles. action potential occurs or not.
• Molecules of neurotransmitter diffuse • Note how the axon terminals of
across the synaptic gap, where they sending neurons almost completely
interact with receptors embedded in cover the cell body of the receiving
the dendrite of the adjacent neuron. neuron.
• Major Neurotransmitters:
o Serotonin
o Acetylcholine (ACh)
o Dopamine (DA)
o Norepinephrine (NE)
o Epinephrine (adrenaline)
o GABA (gamma aminobutyric
acid)
o Endorphins

Neural Bases of Behavior: Neural

Communication

• Within a neuron, communication

occurs through an action potential
(neural impulse that carries
information along the axon of a
neuron). Neural Bases of Behavior: Receptor Sites
• Between neurons, communication • normal message
occurs through transmission of neural
• blocked message (wrong shape)
information across a synapse by
• agonistic drugs mimic shape and
neurotransmitters (chemicals
enhance neurotransmitter
released by neurons that alter activity
• antagonistic drugs fill the site and
in other neurons).
block neurotransmitter
Synapse
Neural Conduction and Synaptic
Transmission

• Resting Membrane Potential (RMP)

o The difference in electrical
charge between the inside
and the outside of the cell
o The neuron is unexcited,
unstimulated, therefore not
 transmitting any impulse 2. Decremental = decrease in amplitude as
(polarized state = -70mv) they travel through a neuron

Integration of Post Synaptic Potential and

Generation of Action Potentials

• Whether or not a neuron fires is

determined by the net effect of their
activity.
• It depends on the balance between
the excitatory and inhibitory signals
reaching its axon hillock (the conical
structure at the junction between the
cell body and the axon)
Generation and Conduction of Post Synaptic
• If the sum of the depolarization and
Potential
hyperpolarization reaching the axon
• When neurons fire, they release from hillock at anytime is sufficient to
their terminal buttons chemicals depolarize the membrane to a level is
called neurotransmitter. referred to as THRESHOLD OF
• When neurotransmitter molecules EXCITATION (-65mv)
bind to post synaptic receptors, they • Action Potential is generated at the
may DEPOLARIZE the receptive axon hillock
membrane (decrease the RMP from - • Graded EPSP and IPSP are added
70mv to -67mv) or they may together as it reaches the axon hillock
HYPERPOLARIZE the receptive and decides to fire or not on the basis
membrane (increase RMP from -70mv of their SUM
to -72 mv) • Adding or combining a number of
• Post synaptic depolarizations are individual signals into one overall
called Excitatory Post-synaptic signal is called INTEGRATION.
Potential (EPSP) – increase likelihood • Neurons integrate incoming signals
that the neuron will fire an impulse through:
(less negative) 1. Spatial Summation –
• Post synaptic hyperpolarizations are involve adding up several
called Inhibitory Post-synaptic EPSP & IPSP coming from
Potential (IPSP) – decrease the different synaptic sites
likelihood that the neuron will fire an
2. Temporal Summation –
impulse (more negative)
involve repeated stimulation
• Both EPSP and IPSP are graded
of one synaptic site
responses – amplitudes of both are
proportional to the intensity of signals THE IONIC BASIS of Action Potentials
that elicit them.
o Weak signal = weak impulse; • Action potentials are voltage
strong = strong impulse activated or regulated through the
action of voltage activated ion
Transmission of post synaptic potentials has channels (ion channels that open or
two characteristics: close in response to changes in the
level of membrane potential)
1. Rapid = instantaneous
• EXOCYTOSIS – the process whereby a
neurotransmitter is released
• Absolute Refractory Period (period in
millisecond when irritability is zero)
o Cannot be stimulated or
respond again if second
stimulus is applied
• Relative Refractory Period (the
period during which it is possible to
fire the neuron again, but only by
applying higher than normal levels of
stimulation
o Need a stronger stimulus to
fire