Lecture

Biological Electricity: Action Potential Propagation and Modeling

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In course

BIO-244: Physics of the cell

Living organisms evolve in a physical world: their cells respond to mechanics, electricity and light. In this course, we will describe the behavior and function of cells using physical principles. ...

Description

This lecture covers the propagation of action potentials along axons, modeling the membrane as an electrical circuit, conductance and voltage gating, and the cable equation to understand membrane potential propagation. It also discusses the diffusion equation for passive propagation, the behavior of ionic currents, and the encoding of input/output signals through action potential trains.

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Instructor

Alexandre Louis André Persat

Expertise bacterial biophysics and bioengineeringmicrofluidicscellular biomechanics Teaching & PhD PhD Students Jann Lukas Ledergerber, Dea Mariette Müller, Marin Paul Geoffroy Marie Ollagnon, Han-Yi Huang, Alice Pellegrino, Shiro Otaki, Chia-Ni Tsai, Po-Long Hsiao Past EPFL PhD Students Lorenzo Anton-Louis Talà, Xavier Pierrat, Tamara Rossy, Alice Cont, Jeremy Wong, Sourabh Monnappa Kuppanda Jafri, Tania Distler Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Gabriele Gambardella Courses Fluid mechanics (for SV)

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Cell biology: Neurotransmission

Related concepts (32)

Action potential

An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific cell rapidly rises and falls. This depolarization then causes adjacent locations to similarly depolarize. Action potentials occur in several types of animal cells, called excitable cells, which include neurons, muscle cells, and in some plant cells. Certain endocrine cells such as pancreatic beta cells, and certain cells of the anterior pituitary gland are also excitable cells.

Membrane potential

Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. That is, there is a difference in the energy required for electric charges to move from the internal to exterior cellular environments and vice versa, as long as there is no acquisition of kinetic energy or the production of radiation. The concentration gradients of the charges directly determine this energy requirement.

Threshold potential

In electrophysiology, the threshold potential is the critical level to which a membrane potential must be depolarized to initiate an action potential. In neuroscience, threshold potentials are necessary to regulate and propagate signaling in both the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Most often, the threshold potential is a membrane potential value between –50 and –55 mV, but can vary based upon several factors.

Postsynaptic potential

Postsynaptic potentials are changes in the membrane potential of the postsynaptic terminal of a chemical synapse. Postsynaptic potentials are graded potentials, and should not be confused with action potentials although their function is to initiate or inhibit action potentials. They are caused by the presynaptic neuron releasing neurotransmitters from the terminal bouton at the end of an axon into the synaptic cleft. The neurotransmitters bind to receptors on the postsynaptic terminal, which may be a neuron or a muscle cell in the case of a neuromuscular junction.

Membrane technology

Membrane technology encompasses the scientific processes used in the construction and application of membranes. Membranes are used to facilitate the transport or rejection of substances between mediums, and the mechanical separation of gas and liquid streams. In the simplest case, filtration is achieved when the pores of the membrane are smaller than the diameter of the undesired substance, such as a harmful microorganism.

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