Functions of the Nervous System: Irritability and Conductivity
The nervous system functions involve receiving sensory input, interpreting and decision-making, and effecting a response. Neurons' irritability and conductivity play crucial roles. Irritability is the ability to respond to stimuli and convert them into nerve impulses, while conductivity enables the transmission of impulses to other neurons, muscles, or glands. This process is vital for understanding nerve impulses and action potentials in detail, involving rapid depolarization and repolarization of the membrane when a stimulus is applied. The resting potential, maintained by various mechanisms, assures the readiness of neurons to respond to stimuli promptly.
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Presentation Transcript
What are the functions of the nervous system? Receive sensory input, interpret & make a decision, and effect a response Individual neurons have two major functional properties: irritability and conductivity. Irritability = ability to respond to a stimulus and convert it to a nerve impulse Conductivity = ability to transmit the impulse to other neurons, muscles, or glands. How do irritability and conductivity relate to the functions of the nervous system?
Irritability = ability to respond to a stimulus and convert it to a nerve impulse What type of stimulus? Receptor neurons respond to specific stimuli (e.g. touch, temperature, pressure, tension, sight, hearing, chemical) All other neurons (interneurons, motor neurons) respond to neurotransmitters released by other neurons What is a nerve impulse? A quick switch in voltage potential (charge difference) across the membrane that travels all the way along the axon of the neuron Occurs due to flow of ions across the membrane All or - nothing Now to understand the process of a nerve impulse / action potential in much more detail
Neurons at rest have an electrochemical gradient across the cell membrane, known as the resting potential. The resting potential is approximately -70mV. Extracellular fluid Cell membrane cytoplasm
The resting potential is maintained by: This rest state takes energy to create Sodium-potassium pump (3 Na+ pumped out for every 2 K+ pumped in) Greater membrane permeability of K+ (K+ can diffuse back out to some degree) Organic anions (- ions) within cell Extracellular fluid Na+ Cell membrane K+ Organic anion cytoplasm
An action potential involves the rapid depolarization and repolarization of the membrane.
When a stimulus is applied to a nerve, some Na+ gates open, allowing Na+ to diffuse in. Extracellular fluid Na+ Na gate Cell membrane K+ K gate Na / K pump Organic anion cytoplasm
Once a threshold is reached, all Na+ gates open, causing depolarization of the membrane. When the membrane is depolarized, the inside of the membrane is more positively charged than the outside. Extracellular fluid Na+ Na gate Cell membrane K+ K gate Na / K pump Organic anion cytoplasm
Membrane repolarization occurs when Na+ gates close and K+ gates open, allowing net diffusion of K+ outside. Repolarization returns the membrane to resting potential (more negatively charged inside) Extracellular fluid Na+ Na gate Cell membrane K+ K gate Na / K pump Organic anion cytoplasm
The K+ gates close and the resting potential is maintained by the Na+ / K+ pump Watch me! Extracellular fluid Na+ Na gate Cell membrane K+ K gate Na / K pump Organic anion cytoplasm
Scholar with more siblings At rest, what ions are most abundant outside the cell, and which are most abundant inside the cell? Which side of the membrane is more negative at rest? Scholar with less siblings Describe how the movement of ions causes Depolarization Repolarization
Scholar with more siblings At rest, what ions are most abundant outside the cell, and which are most abundant inside the cell? Which side of the membrane is more negative at rest? At rest, Na+ ions are mostly outside the membrane, while K+ and anions are mostly inside. The inside of the cell membrane is more negatively charged. Scholar with less siblings Describe how the movement of ions causes Depolarization Na+ions rush into the cell Repolarization K+ ions rush out of the cell
The nerve impulse moves along the axon. The change in voltage of one area triggers the depolarization of the next area. Repolarization follows immediately.
In myelinated neurons the impulse jumps from node to node, rather than traveling the whole length of the axon makes the impulse transmission much more efficient. Watch me! Watch me!
Generation and propagation of nerve impulse along one neuron= irritability Conductivity is the ability of one neuron to signal another. This occurs in an entirely different fashion at the synapse, or gap, between neurons.
The fluid-filled space between neurons is called a synapse Chemicals called neurotransmitters carry the nerve impulse across the synapse.
1. The nerve impulse reaches the axon terminal. 2. Ca+ gates open, allowing Ca+ into the axon. 3. The Ca+ causes vesicles containing neurotransmitters to empty into the synapse
4. The neurotransmitters diffuse across the synaptic cleft and bind with receptors of the next neuron. 5. Na+ channels open in the dendrites of the post-synaptic neuron 6. Post-synaptic neuron depolarizes 7. Remaining neurotransmitter is broken down.
Pre-synaptic neuron Action potential calcium ions release neurotransmitter release Post-synaptic neuron Neutrotransmitter uptake sodium gates open action potential Note: information travels as electrical signal within neurons and as chemical signal between them Watch me!
Watch me! Reflexes are rapid, predictable, involuntary responses to stimuli. May be somatic or autonomic Contain 5 elements
What were our objectives today, and what did we learn about them? What was our learner profile trait and how did we use it? How does what we did today relate to our unit question?
Count off by three. 1) Identify the steps that take place during an action potential. Make a diagram of the cell membrane demonstrating the changes that occur during each step. 2) Draw a diagram of the voltage changes that occur during an action potential. Label the diagram with the changes that occur within the cell during each step. 3) Identify the steps that take place during synaptic transmission. Make a diagram of the events that within the pre- and post-synaptic neurons during each step.
