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SIGNALS IN DENDRITES AND CELL BODY

Signals = chemical neurotransmitters

Receptors (aka signal receivers)


- Membrane-bound
- Found in Dendrites
- Chemical signal  electrical signal (transduction)
- Change in membrane potential
Electrical signals = graded potentials

GRADED POTENTIALS VARY IN MAGNITUDE


Depends on stimulus
Strong stimulus (aka high in #neurotransmitters) = high chance that more ion channels open
- more opened channels = more ions will move = larger change in membrane potential
No neurotransmitter = ligand-gated ion channels remain closed = no ions can move = same
membrane potential
Amplitude of graded potential (aka electrical signal) directly reflects strength of stimulus

Graded potentials *can either:


- hyperpolarize (more negative)
- depolarize (less negative)
*depends on type of channel that is opened or closed
Most important ion channels in denrites and cell body:
- Na+ (sodium)
- K+ (potassium)
- Cl- (chlorine)
- Ca2+ (calcium)
Nernst Equation
 Open Na+/Ca+ = depolarize (less negative)
 Open K+/Cl- = hyperpolarize (more negative)

GRADED POTENTIALS ARE SHORT DISTANCE SIGNALS


Conduction with Decrement
- Graded potentials decrease in strength as they get father away from opened channel
- Strength of signal decreases with distance
Na+ channels move into cell and depolarizes cell (less negative/more positive)
Electronic current spread
- Positive charge spreads along the inside of membrane, causing depolarization
- Happens because of electrical interactions inside neuron
- ie. Positive charges (Na+) attract negative charges and repel positive charges, causing
positive charges to move away from each other (away from initial site of depolarization
- Depolarization moves along in membrane in all directions

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