What is electrotonic conduction? the passive flow of a change in electric potential along a nerve or muscle membrane. It occurs in response to stimulation that is inadequate to trigger an actively propagated action potential (i.e., subthreshold stimulation) but instead generates depolarization in a small area of membrane.
What is the meaning of electronic conduction?
ELECTROTONIC CONDUCTION. The passive and decrease of a chage along a nerve or muscle pathway. ELECTROTONIC CONDUCTION: "In electrotonic conduction the charge decreases along its path.".
What is electrotonic potential?
Electrotonic potential. Electrotonic potential (or graded potential) — a non-propagated local potential, resulting from a local change in ionic conductance (e.g. synaptic or sensory that engenders a local current). When it spreads along a stretch of membrane, it becomes exponentially smaller...
What is electrotonus in biology?
In physiology, electrotonus refers to the passive spread of charge inside a neuron and between cardiac muscle cells or smooth muscle cells. Passive means that voltage-dependent changes in membrane conductance do not contribute.
What is the electrotonic spread of a charge?
The electrotonic spread is what happens after that. Once you have this high concentration here, the fact that a few moments later you're going to have a higher concentration of positive charge here, and a few moments later a higher positive concentration here. This is a passive phenomenon.
What is Electrotonic?
Definition of electrotonic 1 : of, induced by, relating to, or constituting electrotonus. 2 : of, relating to, or being the spread of electrical activity through living tissue or cells in the absence of repeated action potentials.
What is the difference between Electrotonic potential and action potential?
Electrotonic potentials are able to transfer more information within a given time period than action potentials. This difference in information rates can be up to almost an order of magnitude greater for electrotonic potentials.
What causes an Electrotonic potential?
Electrotonic potential transients in response to applied polarizing stimuli are caused by the kinetics of underlying axonal conductances.
What is Electrotonic potential?
Electrotonic potentials represent changes to the neuron's membrane potential that do not lead directly to the generation of new current by action potentials.
Does Electrotonic spread require the use of energy?
The gradient has the potential or ability to then diffuse (this is one of the reasons we call it a potential). Electrotonic spread requires the use of energy.
What is the difference between continuous and saltatory conduction?
Continuous conduction occurs in neurons with unmyelinated axons whereas saltatory conduction occurs in neurons with myelinated axons. Saltatory conduction is much faster than continuous conduction.
What causes end plate potential?
End plate potentials are produced almost entirely by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in skeletal muscle. Acetylcholine is the second most important excitatory neurotransmitter in the body following glutamate.
What is Saltatory conduction?
Saltatory conduction describes the way an electrical impulse skips from node to node down the full length of an axon, speeding the arrival of the impulse at the nerve terminal in comparison with the slower continuous progression of depolarization spreading down an unmyelinated axon.
What is Rheobase voltage?
The rheobase is operationally defined as the minimal electrical current that is necessary to elicit an action potential when current is injected into a cell.
What is passive conduction?
Passive conduction is an important behavior associated with the dendritic and terminal branches of the neuron. In the passive regime, the synap- tic potential propagates with attenuation which prompted Hermann to ascribe a correlation with theory which describes “lossy”transmission lines [1].
What is non-propagated?
sub-threshold depolarization of the nerve-cell body or dendrites NOTE - The magnitude of the non-propagated potential depends on stimulus strength and is subject to summation if successive subliminal stimuli are delivered within a time interval less than the decay time.
What depolarization mean?
Definition of depolarization 1 : the process of depolarizing something or the state of being depolarized. 2 physiology : loss of the difference in charge between the inside and outside of the plasma membrane of a muscle or nerve cell due to a change in permeability and migration of sodium ions to the interior …
What is an action potential?
An action potential is a rapid sequence of changes in the voltage across a membrane. The membrane voltage, or potential, is determined at any time by the relative ratio of ions, extracellular to intracellular, and the permeability of each ion.
How are graded potential and action potential related?
Action potentials are triggered by membrane depolarization to threshold. Graded potentials are responsible for the initial membrane depolarization to threshold.
What causes end plate potential?
End plate potentials are produced almost entirely by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in skeletal muscle. Acetylcholine is the second most important excitatory neurotransmitter in the body following glutamate.
What is all or none action potential?
An action potential occurs when the membrane depolarises to a certain threshold, if this threshold is not reached the action potential will not be triggered. This is referred to as the all-or-nothing principle in biology: it means that the power of a stimulus is not proportional to the power of the action potential.
What is an electrotonic potential?
Electrotonic potential (or graded potential ), a non-propagated local potential, resulting from a local change in ionic conductance (e.g. synaptic or sensory that engenders a local current). When it spreads along a stretch of membrane, it becomes exponentially smaller (decrement). Action potential, a propagated impulse.
Why is electrotonic spread a graded response?
Because the ionic charge enters in one location and dissipates to others, losing intensity as it spread s, electrotonic spread is a graded response. It is important to contrast this with the all-or-none law propagation of the action potential down the axon of the neuron.
What is the term for the potential of an electrotonic cell?
Electrotonic potentials that increase the membrane potential are called excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs).
How do action potentials begin?
However, all action potentials are begun by electrotonic potentials depolarizing the membrane above the threshold potential which converts the electrotonic potential into an action potential. Neurons which are small in relation to their length, such as some neurons in the brain, have only electrotonic potentials ...
What is the passive spread of charge between cardiac muscle cells?
In physiology, electrotonus refers to the passive spread of charge inside a neuron and between cardiac muscle cells or smooth muscle cells. Passive means that voltage-dependent changes in membrane conductance do not contribute. Neurons and other excitable cells produce two types of electrical potential: Electrotonic potential (or graded potential ...
How long does an electrotonic potential last?
Electrotonic potentials have an amplitude that is usually 5-20 mV and they can last from 1 ms up to several seconds long. In order to quantify the behavior of electrotonic potentials there are two constants that are commonly used: the membrane time constant τ, and the membrane length constant λ. The membrane time constant measures the amount ...
How does the length constant of a neuron affect the current passing through it?
The length constant λ, increases as membrane resistance becomes larger and as the internal resistance becomes smaller , allowing current to travel farther down the neuron. The time constant τ, increases as the resistance and capacitance of the membrane increase, which causes current to travel more slowly through the neuron.
How is a microelectrode made?
A microelectrode, constructed by filling a glass tube of extremely small diameter with a conducting fluid such as KCl, is inserted into an axon in such a way that the surface membrane seals itself around the electrode. A reference electrode is placed in the bathing medium.
How do charges affect the membrane potential?
The charges on the amino acid side chains interact with the membrane potential. When the voltage sensing domain reaches a certain voltage, the interaction between the charges and the membrane potential makes the protein change shape , which then opens up the channel .
