UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF

BIOTECHNOLOGY - BIOTECHNOLOGY
Masters of Science (M.Sc Zoology)
Subject Name- Cell Biology
Subject Code- 21SZT704

Membrane Potential
DISCOVER . LEARN . EMPOWER
By: Dr Surabhi Mishra
 Membrane Potential
Course Objective
• The course aims to enable the students to learn about the details of Membrane
Potential and its importance in animals.
• Describe the electrical changes in membrane potential during the action
potential , their chemical bases and excitability changes.

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History:
The fact that cells have a transmembrane potential has been known for over a 100 years, with earlier experiments
by Hober (1905) establishing the observation, and Curtis and Cole (1942) and others demonstrating that it is
maintained by the differential permeability of the plasma membrane to ions.

Without membrane potentials human life would not be possible. All living cells maintain a potential difference
across their membrane. Simply stated, membrane potential is due to disparities in concentration and permeability
of important ions across a membrane. Because of the unequal concentrations of ions across a membrane, the
membrane has an electrical charge. Changes in membrane potential elicit action potentials and give cells the
ability to send messages around the body. More specifically, the action potentials are electrical signals; these
signals carry efferent messages to the central nervous system for processing and afferent messages away from the
brain to elicit a specific reaction or movement. Numerous active transports embedded within the cellular
membrane contribute to the creation of membrane potentials, as well as the universal cellular structure of the lipid
bilayer.

Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential
between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell.
1) Differences in the concentrations of ions on
opposite sides of a cellular membrane lead to
a voltage called the membrane potential.
2) Typical values of membrane potential are in
the range –70 mV to –40 mV. Many ions
have a concentration gradient across the
membrane, including potassium (K+), which
is at a high concentration inside and a low
concentration outside the membrane. Sodium
 (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) ions are at high
concentrations in the extracellular region,
and low concentrations in the intracellular
 regions.
3) These concentration gradients provide the 
potential energy to drive the formation of the
membrane potential. This voltage is
established when the membrane has
permeability to one or more ions.

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Functions of Membrane Potential:
The membrane potential has two basic functions:

1. It allows a cell to function as a battery, providing power to operate a variety of "molecular

devices" embedded in the membrane.
2. In electrically excitable cells such as neurons and muscle cells, it is used for transmitting
signals between different parts of a cell. Signals are generated by opening or closing of ion
channels at one point in the membrane, producing a local change in the membrane potential. This
change in the electric field can be quickly sensed by either adjacent or more distant ion channels
in the membrane. Those ion channels can then open or close as a result of the potential change,
reproducing the signal.

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 Types of Membrane Potential

1. Resting membrane potential: the membrane potential at rest, steady-state conditions.

2. Action potential: a non-graded potential, much like binary code (on/off).

3. Post-synaptic potentials: graded potentials, that can be summated/subtracted by modulation from presynaptic

neurons.

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 Resting Membrane Potential
 The resting membrane potential is the result of the movement of several different ion species through various
ion channels and transporters (uniporters, cotransporters, and pumps) in the plasma membrane. These
movements result in different electrostatic charges across the cell membrane (e.g. Neurons and muscle cells
are excitable such that these cell types can transition from a resting state to an excited state).
 The resting membrane potential of a cell is defined as the electrical potential difference across the plasma
membrane when the cell is in a non-excited state.
 A resting (non-signaling) neuron has a voltage across its membrane called the resting membrane potential, or
simply the resting potential. The resting potential is determined by concentration gradients of ions across the
membrane and by membrane permeability to each type of ion. If the membrane were equally permeable to all
ions, each type of ion would flow across the membrane and the system would reach equilibrium.
 The resting potential tells about what happens when a neuron is at rest. An action potential occurs when a
neuron sends information down an axon, away from the cell body.

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The resting membrane potential of a resting neuron is approximately -70mV
The minus indicates that the cytoplasmic side is NEGATIVE compared to the outside
The membrane is therefore POLARISED
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 A resting potential is the difference in charge across the membrane when a neuron is not firing

• In a typical resting potential, the inside of the neuron is more negative relative to the outside (approximately –70
mV)
• The maintenance of a resting potential is an active process (i.e. ATP dependent) that is controlled by sodium-
potassium pumps.
• The sodium-potassium pump is a transmembrane protein that actively exchanges sodium and potassium ions
(antiport)
• It expels 3 Na+ ions for every 2 K+ ions admitted (additionally, some K+ ions will then leak back out of the cell).
• This creates an electrochemical gradient whereby the cell interior is relatively negative compared to the extracellular
environment (as there are more positively charged ions outside of the cell and more negatively charged ions inside
the cell). The resting membrane potential of large nerve fibers when not transmitting nerve signals is about −90
millivolts. That is, the potential inside the fiber is 90 millivolts more negative than the potential in the extracellular
fluid on the outside of the fiber.
• The exchange of sodium and potassium ions requires the hydrolysis of ATP (it is an energy-dependent process)
• Both the generation and maintenance of the resting membrane potential are of great importantance in excitable cells
(neurons and muscle).

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Resting membrane potential varies according to types of
cells:
For example:
•Skeletal muscle cells: −95 mV
•Smooth muscle cells: −50 mV
•Astrocytes: −80/−90 mV
•Neurons: −70 mV
•Erythrocytes: −12 mV

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Importance of Resting Potential
 The significance of the resting membrane potential is that it allows the body’s excitable
cells (neurons and muscle) to experience rapid changes to perform their proper role.
 Upon excitation, these cells deviate from their resting membrane potential to undergo a
rapid, temporary action potential before coming back to rest. In effect, this is similar to an
on-off switch.
 For neurons, the firing of an action potential allows that cell to communicate with other
cells via the release of various neurotransmitters. In muscle cells, the generation of an
action potential causes the muscle to contract.

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Action Potential
 Nerve signals are transmitted by action potentials, which are rapid changes in the membrane potential that
spread rapidly along the nerve fiber membrane. Each action potential begins with a sudden change from the
normal resting negative membrane potential to a positive potential and ends with an almost equally rapid
change back to the negative potential.

 Action potential is a brief reversal of membrane potential where the membrane potential changes from -70mV
to +30mV. When the membrane potential of the axon hillock of a neuron reaches threshold, a rapid change in
membrane potential occurs in the form of an action potential. This moving change in membrane potential has
three phases. First is depolarization, followed by repolarization and a short period of hyperpolarization. These
three events happen over just a few milliseconds.

Action Potential: a sudden reverse of membrane polarity (of charges) produced by a stimulus to produce a
physiological effect such as:
o Transmission of impulse along nerve fibers (transmission of nerve signals)
o Release of neurotransmitters
o Muscle contraction o Activation or inhibition of glandular secretion
Only Excitable tissue (Nerve and muscles) respond to action potential.
Firing = excitability = action potential = nerve impulses

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 Phases of Action Potential
•The depolarization, also called the rising phase, is caused when positively charged sodium ions (Na+)
suddenly rush through open voltage-gated sodium channels into a neuron. As additional sodium rushes in, the
membrane potential actually reverses its polarity. During this change of polarity the membrane actually
develops a positive value for a moment (+40 millivolts).

•The repolarization or falling phase is caused by the slow closing of sodium channels and the opening of
voltage-gated potassium channels. As a result, the membrane permeability to sodium declines to resting
levels. As the sodium ion entry declines, the slow voltage-gated potassium channels open and potassium ions
rush out of the cell. This expulsion acts to restore the localized negative membrane potential of the cell.

•Hyperpolarization is a phase where some potassium channels remain open and sodium channels reset. A
period of increased potassium permeability results in excessive potassium efflux before the potassium
channels close. This results in hyperpolarization as seen in a slight dip following the spike.
The propagation of action potential is independent of stimulus strength but dependent on refractory periods.
The period from the opening of the sodium channels until the sodium channels begin to reset is called the
absolute refractory period. During this period, the neuron cannot respond to another stimulus, no matter how
strong.

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An action potential is caused by either threshold or suprathreshold stimuli upon a neuron.
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1.Stimulus starts the rapid change in voltage or action potential. In
patch-clamp mode, sufficient current must be administered to the cell in
order to raise the voltage above the threshold voltage to start membrane
depolarization.

2.Depolarization is caused by a rapid rise in membrane potential

opening of sodium channels in the cellular membrane, resulting in a
large influx of sodium ions.

3.Membrane Repolarization results from rapid sodium channel

inactivation as well as a large efflux of potassium ions resulting from
activated potassium channels.

4.Hyperpolarization is a lowered membrane potential caused by the

efflux of potassium ions and closing of the potassium channels.

5.Resting state is when membrane potential returns to the resting voltage

that occurred before the stimulus occurred.

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Importance of Action potentials are of great importance to the functioning of the brain since they propagate
information in the nervous system to the central nervous system and propagate commands initiated in the
central nervous system to the periphery.

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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.
 These are collectively referred to as postsynaptic receptors, since they are on the membrane of the
postsynaptic cell.
 One way receptors can react to being bound by a neurotransmitter is to open or close an ion channel,
allowing ions to enter or leave the cell. It is these ions that alter the membrane potential. Ions are
subject to two main forces, diffusion and electrostatic repulsion. Ions will tend towards their 
equilibrium potential, which is the state where the diffusion force cancels out the force of electrostatic
repulsion. When a membrane is at its equilibrium potential, there is no longer a net movement of ions.

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Relation to action potentials:
Neurons have a resting potential of about −70 mV. If the opening of the ion channel results in a net gain of
positive charge across the membrane, the membrane is said to be depolarized, as the potential comes
closer to zero. This is an excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP), as it brings the neuron's potential closer
to its firing threshold (about −55 mV).
 If, on the other hand, the opening of the ion channel results in a net gain of negative charge, this moves
the potential further from zero and is referred to as hyperpolarization. This is an 
inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP), as it changes the charge across the membrane to be further
from the firing threshold. Neurotransmitters are not inherently excitatory or inhibitory: different
receptors for the same neurotransmitter may open different types of ion channels.
 EPSPs and IPSPs are transient changes in the membrane potential, and EPSPs resulting from
transmitter release at a single synapse are generally far too small to trigger a spike in the postsynaptic
neuron. However, a neuron may receive synaptic inputs from hundreds, if not thousands, of other
neurons, with varying amounts of simultaneous input, so the combined activity of afferent neurons can
cause large fluctuations in membrane potential or subthreshold membrane potential oscillations. If the
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postsynaptic cell is sufficiently depolarized, an action potential will occur.
Termination:
Postsynaptic potentials begin to be terminated when the neurotransmitter detaches from its receptor. The receptor
is then free to return to its previous structural state. Ion channels that had been opened by the receptor when the
neurotransmitter was bound to it will now close. Once the channels are closed, ions return to their equilibrium
states, and the membrane is returned to its equilibrium potential.

Postsynaptic potentials are subject to summation, spatially and/or temporally.

I. Spatial summation: If a cell is receiving input at two synapses that are near each other, their postsynaptic
potentials add together. If the cell is receiving two excitatory postsynaptic potentials, they combine so that the
membrane potential is depolarized by the sum of the two changes. If there are two inhibitory potentials, they
also sum, and the membrane is hyperpolarized by that amount. If the cell is receiving both inhibitory and
excitatory postsynaptic potentials, they can cancel out, or one can be stronger than the other, and the
membrane potential will change by the difference between them.
II. Temporal summation: When a cell receives inputs that are close together in time, they are also added
together, even if from the same synapse. Thus, if a neuron receives an excitatory postsynaptic potential, and
then the presynaptic neuron fires again, creating another EPSP, then the membrane of the postsynaptic cell is
depolarized by the total of the EPSPs.

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ANY QUERY?

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 HOME WORK

• Q1. Explain about Membrane Potentail and its types.

• Q2. Differentiate between resting membrane potential and action potential with its
importance.

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 APPLICATIONS

• The study of related to membrane Potential will help to learn in neuronal studies.

• It will be highly helpful in advance research area related to neurology

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 REFERENCES
• Guyton-and-Hall-Textbook-of-Medical-Physiology-12th-Ed.pdf

• Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology

• Lodish H., Berk A., Lawrence Zipursky S., Matsudaira P., Baltimore D., Darnell J.E..
2000. Molecular Cell Biology. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, USA.

• Web pages:

• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-resting-membrane-potential.

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THANK
THANKYOU
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