In: Anatomy and Physiology
Use the following table to answer the questions
Ion |
Extracellular Concentration (mM) |
Intracellular Concentration (mM) |
Na+ |
440 |
50 |
K+ |
20 |
400 |
Cl- |
560 |
52 |
Ca++ |
10 |
1 |
1. What is the effect of addition of extracellular TTX and TEA
on equilibrium potential? (1 points)
2. If one reduced the extracellular concentration of Na+ around a
neuron, what would happen to the membrane potential? (1
point)
3. If one increased the extracellular concentration of K+ around a
neuron, what would happen to the membrane potential? (1
point)
1. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a blocker of voltage-gated Na+ channels and abolishes the inward current. Tetraethyl ammonium (TEA) is a blocker of voltage-gated K+ channels and abolishes the outward current.
2. The reverse potential of sodium channel is given by Nernst Equation,
From the equation, we can see that an increase in extracellular concentration of Na+ around a neuron will result in an increase in reverse potential of Na+ channel and thus an overall increase in membrane potential due to an increase in inward current.
3. The reverse potential of pottasium channel is given by Nernst Equation,
From the equation, we can see that an increase in extracellular concentration of K+ around a neuron will result in an increase in reverse potential of K+ channel and thus an overall decrease in membrane potential due to an increase in outward current.