Neuronal Transmission within the Neuron

[Sreelakshmi S., 1214256]

Introduction
The neuron, or nerve cell, is the basic structural and functional unit of the human
nervous system. It is an electrically excitable cell whose function is to transmit information
and signals across the body, which it does through electrical as well as chemical signals.
Neurotransmission, i.e. the process of communication of information via the neurons, is
typically understood as the transmission of nerve impulses across a synapse, which is from
one neuron to another. However, before the impulse can pass from one axon ending to the
dendrites of another cell across a synapse, the impulse needs to first travel through the length
of the pre-synaptic neuron itself. While neurotransmission across synapses is typically
chemical in nature, where neurotransmitters are released and diffused to the receptors of
another neuron which they bind and activate, the neuronal transmission that takes place
within the neuron is electrical in nature. This internal process within the nerve cell can be
understood as different and distinct from that of chemical neurotransmission.

To understand the electrical transmission within the neuron, it is first important to
understand two things: the first is the basic structure of the neuron, and the second is the
nature of an electrical change.
Structure of the Neuron
In brief, the neuron or nerve cell consists of dendrites, a soma or cell body, an axon,
and axon terminals. The dendrites have spines, which are smaller protrusions, and the main
function of the dendrites is to receive synaptic signals from other neurons that they are in
contact with. The soma is basically the cell body, and contains the nucleus which is the life-
force of the nerve cell. Emerging out from the soma is the axon hillock, which connects the
soma to the axon, and contains a high concentration of voltage-activated sodium channels.
This is the zone considered to be the spike initiation zone for action potentials, which play a
crucial part in electrical transmission within the neuron. Multiple signals received by the
various dendrites and then transmitted by the soma all converge here, from where they travel
electrically through the axon, which is the next connected segment. The axon is myelinated
for insulation, and this myelin layer is made of glial cells, which are either Schwann cells or
oligodendrocytes, with the former found in the peripheral and the latter in the central nervous
system. There are, however, unmyelinated patches of cell membrane along the length of the
axon placed at regular intervals, known as the nodes of Ranvier, which act as mini axon
hillocks, and work to boost signal transmission and prevent significant signal decay. Towards
the end of the axon are present the axon terminals, where the myelinated insulation is lost and
the axon ending branches out. These axon endings contain pockets of neurotransmitters
enclosed within what are called synaptic vesicles, ready to be released into the synapse for
the next neuron upon stimulation. At this point, the axon terminals become pre-synaptic, and
the neuron that receives the neurotransmitter becomes the post-synaptic neuron. Furthermore,
this is the point where electrical transmission within the neuron stops and chemical
neurotransmission across synapses begins once again.
Structure of a Neuron (next page)

Nature of an Electrical Charge
The flow of current through a conductor is caused by the movement of electrons,
which are negatively charged particles, from a point where they are in a high concentration to
a point where they are in low concentration. The difference between the number of electrons
at these two different points is what is known as voltage, measured in volts. The amount of
voltage difference between the two points plays an effect on current flow, making it more
rapid.
Neuronal transmission within the neuron is electrical in nature, and follows these
same principles in the transmission of impulses from one end of the nerve cell to the other.
Resting Potential
The inside of the neuron contains a large number of negative ions and the outside with
an equally large number of positive ions. These two kinds of ions are separated by the cell
membrane, which prevents the entry of positive ions into the neuron, as well as the exit of
negative ions from the neuron. Owing the polarity caused by the presence of oppositely
charged ions on either side of the cell membrane, this state of the nerve cell is termed as the
polarized condition. The difference between the positive outside of the membrane and the
negative inside of the cell is what is known as resting potential, and usually stands at a value
of -70mV.

Action Potential
When a nerve cell receives a synaptic message from a neighbouring cell, and electric
charge is sparked off in the axon, starting at the axon hillock. This is where the role of the
nerve fibres as electrical conductors comes in. the electrical impulse generated within the
neuron that travels along the length of the axon to finally trigger the next synaptic chemical
neurotransmission, is called the action potential. This action potential travels like a wave
along the nerve fibres this means that the action potential generated at one point creates
another gradient of voltage between the active point and the point adjacent to it that is in
resting potential. Thus, the movement of the action potential along the axon is like a wave of
depolarization that moves through its length point by point.

How does the action potential work to depolarize the nerve cell? This is achievable
because of the afore-mentioned presence of positive and negative ions that exist on either side
of the cell membrane. A voltage difference exists, which makes the flow of current a potent
possibility. However, this flow of current cannot take place at other times owing to the
membrane that is blocking the flow of ions into and out of the nerve cell. However, this
barrier also contains a series ion channels at every point that can be stimulated to open and
close, thus letting ions in and out. When the post-synaptic nerve cell receives a chemically
neurotransmitter from the pre-synaptic nerve cell, it accordingly stimulates the opening of
these ion channels. The opening of the ion channels allows the positively charged ions to
flow into the axon while the negatively charged ions to move outwards, thus creating a
depolarized state.
It has already been stated that action potential works by creating a gradient in the
neighbouring point, thus allowing the electrical charge to move like a wave along the length
of the axon. However, how is this maintained if the very first point in the cell is depolarized
by the opening of the ion channels? This is answered by the mechanism of the two kinds if
ion channels that exist along the axonal membrane the sodium ion channels and the
potassium ion channels.
Sodium ions (+Na) are positively charged ions that are found in the outside of the cell
membrane in greater concentration than inside it. Potassium ions (+K) are also positively
charged ions, but are usually found inside the axonal membrane, though in lower
concentration than that of the negative ions that exist inside it. This means that a large
number of sodium ions are found outside the cell membrane, which is the area that has a
positive charge. A small number of potassium ions are found inside the cell membrane, which
has a predominantly negative charge.
When action potential is generated, the first ion channels to open are the sodium
channels. The opening of the ion channels leads to a rushing in of sodium ions to the
negatively charged inside of the axonal membrane.
1
This leads to rapid depolarization, as the
charges become balanced on the inside as well as the outside due to the entry of the positively

1
As mentioned in the section on Nature of an Electrical Charge, electrical charge works along the lines of the
movement of negatively charged ions, i.e. electrons, from an area of higher to lower concentration; however, in
the neuron since it is the positive ion, i.e. the sodium ion, that is initiating the current flow (by the opening of the
ion channel), current flow is indicated as positive to negative. In actuality there are ions that are moving in both
directions.
charged sodium ions into the negatively charged axon. The rapid flow of current leads to a
sudden switch in voltage what was -70mV before the flow of current (resting potential)
increases by about 100mV, leading to a current voltage of +30mV. The transmembrane
voltage is thus changed from negative to positive and this, in turn, leads to the opening of
the next set of ion channels, i.e. the potassium ion channels.

Just as rapidly as the sodium channels flowed into the axonal membrane, the
potassium channels flow out of it. This in turn causes the voltage within the membrane to
switch back to its original negative value, and pass on the gradient to the neighbouring point
in the axonal membrane.
Nature of Resting Potential
The mechanism of resting potential has been discussed in an earlier section; however,
an understanding of its nature and maintenance is important to gaining a clear understanding
of the concept of resting potential in a neuron.

The axonal membrane contains an interesting mechanism of ion pumps that
contribute towards the maintenance of resting potential in the absence of stimulation. These
ion pumps include sodium pumps as well as potassium pumps. As has already been
discussed, it is clear that the concentration of positively charged sodium ions is much higher
outside the axonal membrane. The sodium pump is actively at work in order to expel any
excessive sodium ions during resting potential. Similarly, the potassium pump is also actively
at work in order to contain a certain number of potassium ions during resting potential. It is
important to note that only a certain number of potassium ions are worked to be contained
inside the membrane, i.e. a small enough number that their collective charge does not upset
the voltage difference cause by the higher positive charge outside the membrane. It is also
these pumps that are work to bring the neuron back to its initial state of depolarization, when
the exchange of sodium and potassium ions takes place during transmission of nerve impulse.
In actuality, a very few number of sodium and potassium ions make the exchange during this
process, and this number is not enough to significantly modify the positive and negative
charges of the outside and inside of the membrane respectively. However, the ion pumps are
still at work in expelling sodium ions and re-containing potassium ions, in order to prevent an
accumulation of either kind in the wrong space which would cause a consequent
depolarization of the neuron.

Another mechanism adopted by the neuron in order to maintain the voltage
difference, and thus the resting potential, is by the size of the ions that it contains. A number
of negatively charged ions contained within the membrane are of too large a size to be able to
pass through the pores of the membrane. Thus, this restricts the flow of electrons from an
area of higher to lower concentration, i.e. from inside the membrane to the outside of it,
helping maintain the polarized state of the neuron.
Nature of the Action Potential
The mechanism of the action potential has already been discussed; however, action
potential further involves a few more characteristics that become important in understanding
its functioning.
Impulses can travel at different speeds along an axon however, this is NOT
regulated by the intensity of electrical impulse that is generated. The action potential follows
an all-or-none law. This means that if, and only if, a certain threshold of stimulus intensity
is achieved, will and electrical current be initiated. Stronger stimuli do not result in larger or
faster nerve impulses.
How this works is, when a certain threshold of intensity is achieved, then the nerve
cell itself generates the current, i.e. the action potential, in the manner discussed in the earlier
section. Since the generation of current is internal to the neuron, the generation of the current
in terms of the speed of the impulse is independent of the stimulus. If the critical threshold is
not reached, then no action potential is generated. If the critical threshold is reached, then
action potential is generated. If intensity is higher than the critical threshold, action potential
is, of course, generated, but the speed or nature of the impulse does not differ at all from an
impulse generated by exactly meeting the critical threshold.
Thus, action potential is based on an all-or-none law hitting threshold results in
complete generation of current; not meeting it evokes no response, not even a weak one. The
speed of impulse is dictated by the diameter and myelination of the neuron that is being
stimulated, and not on the nature or intensity of the stimulus.

Since action potential is self-propagating in nature, it electrotonically conducts itself
in a circular motion to every part of the axon, transversing it in both direction. This is the
process of conduction in unmyelinated cells; in myelinated cells, however, the action
potential is of a different nature. There, the depolarized state jumps from one node of Ranvier
to the next one. Thicker axons are the ones that are myelinated, and hence these are the axons
in which such conduction happens. This method of conduction is also faster. Thus, axons
with a larger diameter, i.e. myelinated axons, usually feature a faster conduction velocity for
impulse within the neuron. The conduction is slower in axons with smaller diameters, i.e.
unmyelinated or lesser myelinated axons.

The conduction on unmyelinated axons, as mentioned, is electrotonically conducted,
i.e. the depolarization is propagated in circular waves from the site of generation of the action
potential. This technically concludes that conduction of impulse can happen multi-
directionally within the axon, and this is called antidromic conduction. However, chemical
neurotransmission, i.e. synaptic transmission, only happens in one direction. Therefore, when
the antidromic depolarized waves meet the site of the first synapse, i.e. the direction of the
dendrites of the neuron in which the action potential was generated itself, these waves wane
out. This results in the commonly understood pattern of transmission from receptors to
synaptic junctions to synaptic terminals, and from there to the next neuron. This type of
conduction is termed as orthodromic conduction.
During the generation of action potential, it has been discussed how sodium ions are
let into the membrane via sodium channels. This is also due to the increased permeability of
the membrane towards the entry of sodium ions. Once the action potential has passed on, the
permeability of the membrane rapidly declines. This is followed by a temporary increase in
the permeability of the membrane towards potassium ions (those that were contained in the
membrane during resting potential but travel outwards during action potential). This becomes
the reason for a temporary period of hyperpolarization that follows the depolarization.
Furthermore, the passing of an action potential is followed by an absolute refractory
period. Due to the increased permeability towards sodium ions, the neuron will not respond
to new activation temporarily. Furthermore, for several milliseconds after the end of the
absolute refractory period, it becomes difficult for a new action potential to be generated in
the neuron. This is, as mentioned, due to the hyperpolarization that follows.

Finally, the role of sodium and potassium pumps has already been mentioned in an
earlier section. As discussed, during the exchange of sodium and potassium ions that takes
place during generation of action potentials, very few ions are actually involved in a single
instance, thus no significant difference is brought about to the overall charge of the inside and
outside of the membrane. However, prolonged and repeated trains in generation of action
potential can result in measurable changes in ionic concentration. Thus, the sodium and
potassium pumps work to compensate for the leakages that take place through the ionic
channels. The ratio is 3:2 for every three sodium ions that are expelled, two potassium ions
are taken in.
References:
Foxit Software. (2014, June 26). Brain Campaign. Retrieved from Brain Campaign Web site:
http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/neurotut.html
Leukel, F. (1976). Introduction to Physiological Psychology. C.V. Mosby Company.
Oja, S. S., & Saransaari, P. (n.d.). Neurons, Action Potentials, and Synapses. Encyclopedia of
Life Support Systems.