Ac&on Poten&als
Outline
Basic
experimental
ndings
cri&cal
experimental
observa&ons
of
ac&on
poten&als
the
voltage-clamp
experimental
setup
In
a
nutshell
The
ac&on
poten&al
cycle
consists
of
a
rapid
membrane
depolariza,on
(i.e.,
an
increase
in
transmembrane
poten&al)
followed
by
a
slower
recovery
to
res,ng
condi&ons.
Once
an
ac&on
poten&al
is
ini&ated
at
one
site
on
a
membrane,
it
ini&ates
ac&on
poten&als
at
adjacent
sites,
thus
leading
to
a
propaga,on
of
the
ac&on
poten&al
throughout
the
remaining
membrane.
Observa&ons
Concurrent
with
the
s&mulus
current,
Vm
shows
a
small
direct
response.
A
much
larger
and
more
energe&c
second
deec&on
occurs
AP
AP
is
a
consequence
of
the
s&mulus,
but
is
generated
by
the
charged
energy
stored
in
the
concentra,on
dierences
that
exist
across
the
excitable
membrane
This
stored
energy
allows
rst
the
ow
of
Na+
ions
(Vm
increase)
and
then
the
ow
of
K+
ions
(Vm
decrease).
EEE
4260C
K.
Oweiss
Experimental
Setup
Individual
bers
can
be
teased
out
and
a
single
ber
iden&ed
at
its
proximal
and
distal
end.
AP
main
characteris,cs:
Threshold
response
All
or
None
nature
Fiber
diameter
(conduc&on
without
decrement)
Latency
(refractory
period)
EEE
4260C
K.
Oweiss
Recording Setup
Depolariza&on
Hyper polariza&on
AP
Characteris&cs
3:
Conduc&on
AP
is
conducted
without
decrement.
It
has
a
self-regenera&ve
feature
that
keeps
the
amplitude
constant,
even
when
it
is
conducted
over
great
distances
AP
Characteris&cs
4:
Latency
AP
is
followed
by
a
refractory
period.
For
a
brief
&me
ader
an
AP
is
generated,
the
cells
ability
to
re
a
second
ac&on
poten&al
is
suppressed.
The
refractory
period
limits
the
frequency
at
which
a
nerve
can
re
ac&on
poten&als,
and
thus
limits
the
informa&on-carrying
capacity
of
the
axon
EEE
4260C
K.
Oweiss
HH
Model
Assump&ons
Early
current
is
Na+
current
alone:
Ionic Independence
(1)
(2)
Experimentally
measured
Conductance
dynamics
over
&me
HH
Model
for
K+
The
potassium
conductance
gK(t,
vm)
Solving
EEE
4260C
K.
Oweiss
conductance
when
all
channels
are
open
we can re-write
As
with
K+,
we
can
also
assume
that
for
the
sodium
protein
structure
to
yield
an
open
pore
we
require
conforma&onal
changes
in
which
each
of
four
subunits
are
in
an
open
posi&on.
For
Na+
three
subunits
have
m
as
the
probability
of
their
being
open,
while
the
fourth
is
described
by
the
probability
h
of
being
open
(3)
(4)
asympto&c
condi&ons
of
m
and
h
with
increasing
&me
(6)
Sum of currents
Ionic currents
The
refractory
period
Absolute
refractory
period
followed
by
a
rela&ve
refractory
period
Refractoriness
can
be
understood
mainly
by
the
behavior
of
the
inac&va&ng
parameter
h.
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