Postsynaptic potential Essays

Introduction: Imagine sitting there and then suddenly an overwhelming sense of fear washes over you. All that is possible is sit there and be a distant spectator to your surroundings unable to interact for the moment. After seconds that feel like an eternity pass you then come to gaining back full awareness, but still lacking the ability to breathe or speak correctly. This is an example of what a seizure feels like and a significant portion of the population, about 1%, suffer from a condition known

CONCLUSION When you put an egg in vinegar, we see that the shell dissolves, but do you ever wonder why? An egg is made mostly out of calcium carbonate which reacts with an ingredient in vinegar, acetic acid. Acetic acid is about 4% of the vinegar and what breaks apart the solid calcium carbonate crystals. The bubbles we see, from the egg, is the carbonate that make carbon dioxide and the other calcium ions float free. This is the equation: CaCO3 (s) + 2 HC2H3O2 (aq) → Ca(C2H3O2)2 (aq) + H2O

The resting potential is generated by the specific changes in membrane permeability for of potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) ions, which in turn result from concentrated changes in functional activity of ion channels. Cell membranes are made up of a phospholipid bilayer- consisting of two layers of linked fatty molecule. Various specialized proteins, such as ion channels, float in this bilayer. Ion channel are membrane-spanning proteins that allows the passage of certain ions through the membrane

membrane potential Most cells in the body make use of charged particles, ions, to build up a charge across the cell membrane. Cells make use of the cell membrane to regulate ion movement between the extracellular fluid and Cell Body. The electrical state of the cell membrane can have several variations. A potential is a distribution of charge across the cell membrane, measured in millivolts (mV). The standard is to compare the inside of the cell relative to the outside, so the membrane potential is a

electrical signals is called a graded potential and the second electrical signal that sent and received is called the action potential. The graded potential is used only for short-distance as opposed to the action potential which allows for long distance communication within the body. Graded potentials are in short brought by an external stimuli which can occur in a sensory neuron or by neurotransmitters that were released by the presynaptic neuron. An action potential can only occur from the depolarization

Glucose enters the nerve terminal by passive transport. Glycolysis occurs in the neuronal cytoplasm and pyruvate molecule are generated. Pyruvate is transported into the mitochondria and an acetyl group derived from pyruvic acid combines with coenzyme-A present in the mitochondria to form acetyl coenzyme-A, which is transported back into the cytoplasm. Choline is actively transported into the neuronal terminal from the synaptic cleft via sodium and choline transporters. An enzyme choline acetyltransferase

through an electrochemical process called intracellular signaling and intercellular signaling. The way they achieve this long distance rapid communication is through the action potential. This action potential is generated by the cell body of the axon. This is where the electrochemical gradient comes into play. The membrane potential of a neuron is normally -70 millivolts and the membrane is polarized. It is the influx sodium ions and outflux of potassium ions and this will make the inside of the neuron

anesthesia before other general anesthetics agents became commonly used. The drug has also been prescribed for short-term treatment of insomnia on rare occasions. Secobarbital is a CII schedule drug, substances in this schedule have an elevated potential to be abused. Secobarbital is orally administered, 100 mg as a sedative and 200 to 300mg 1 to 2 hours

Myasthenia gravis is a chronic autoimmune neuromuscular disease characterized by varying degrees of weakness of the skeletal muscles of the body. It occurs when communication between nerve cells and muscles becomes impaired. This impairment prevents crucial muscle contractions from occurring, resulting in muscle weakness. Normally when impulses travel down the nerve, the nerve endings release a neurotransmitter substance called acetylcholine. Acetylcholine travels from the neuromuscular junction

transmission of the stimulation wave from the nerve cell to the effector organ or to another nerve cell; many of them defending the idea that signaling across synapses is electrical, just like the propagation wave along the axon during an action potential. However, there was ample evidence to argue against such a simple picture of neuronal communication. Scientists had observed that there was a unidirectional

RESTING MEMBRANE POTENTIAL When the neuron is not sending a signal at rest the membrane potential called as resting membrane potential. In this stage, permeability of K+ much greater than Na+ When a neuron is at rest, the inside of the neuron is negative relative to the outside. Although the concentrations of the different ions endeavor to balance out on both sides of the membrane, they cannot because the cell membrane sanctions only some ions to pass through channels (ion channels). At rest, potassium

Essay 89: Pituitary Gland Function The pituitary gland is a pea sized region of specialized endocrine cells and neurons located behind the optic chiasm and enclosed in a bony structure called the sella turcica, or Turkish saddle. Although the pituitary is often called the “master gland” of the endocrine system, that label is more appropriate for an adjacent area of brain known as the hypothalamus. As 19th century scientists deciphered the anatomy and physiology of the central nervous system

Introduction PIVD stands for prolapsed intervertebral disc. It occurs due to the outgrowth of the disc. This outgrowth is the nucleus pulposus that seeps through a shred in the annulus fibrosus. It is also called slipped or herniated disc. It occurs in four stages: 1. Bulging: initially, when the disc cannot get back to its original state, after being stretched and retains a tin bump at one end of the disc. 2. Protrusion: post bulging, the bump becomes very prominent and the substance starts to

the start of the ride they will need to have sufficient energy to complete the ride. [3] This will help the ride to travel the vertical circle (loop) without extra energy injected. The energy involved with the roller coaster ride is gravitational potential energy

cord to voluntary muscle. Neurons communicate via an electrochemical signal called an action potential that sends information down an axon and away from the cell body. They are based on the movements of ions through channels in the membrane of an axon. A molecular message is sent to neighboring neurons when an action potential is reached. This is an all or nothing process. Triggering Action Potential: At rest, a neuron holds a balance of excitatory and inhibitory signals. If the excitatory signals

In the classic Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Snow White is tricked by the evil queen into being poisoned. Disguised as an old woman, the queen hands Snow White a perfectly ripened, deep red apple. Deceived by its appealing appearance, Snow White takes a bite of the poisonous fruit and the rest is history. Similarly, misleading appearances is what makes up the core conflict in Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein. The plot begins with a hopeful scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who embarks

Physics research question How the angle at which you throw the Frisbee affects its height and distance? Index • What is a Frisbee? (Its shape, structure, material, weight and other specifications) • Various forces helping the Frisbee in its flight. • The Bernoulli Principle and Newton's Third Law. • The aerodynamic forces acting on the disk. • Gyroscopic stability responsible for the spinning of the Frisbee. • An experiment to show how the angle at which we throw the Frisbee affects its flight

In soccer as in most sports we often hear the term momentum. Momentum, another area of interest in physics is measured as the velocity of an object times its mass. If an object is in motion it has momentum. When a player kicks a soccer ball he transfers momentum to the ball and whenever he receives the soccer ball he slows down the momentum of the ball with his feet. The Magnus effect is of importance to soccer players who want to bend the flight of a ball. It explains why a ball curves through the

retina. The photoreceptors, rods and cones, are distributed across the back of the eye to capture all light with a higher concentration found in the fovea for fine vision. The light stimulates rods and cones resulting in a change in their membrane potential. This change results in a cascade of signals via sensory nerve cells along an optic nerve to the visual cortex. The image that is seen is focused on via the use of both intraocular and extraocular

The action potential is the signal that travels down the axon when a neuron is transmitting information. To understand the action potential, which is essentially the flow of ions in and out of the neuron that differ from the normal flow, one must understand the relation of ions, especially sodium and potassium, with the neuron. Neurons are covered by membranes that regulate the inflow and outflow of chemicals, and certain chemicals, like sodium and potassium can only flow in and out via channels