Excitable Cells and Membrane Potential

Hormone that regulates sodium and water retention in kidneys.

Condition caused by adrenal tumor leading to excess aldosterone production.

A glucocorticoid that regulates metabolism and stress response.

Includes increasing blood glucose, vasoconstriction, and anti-inflammatory effects.

Cortisol inhibits ACTH release to maintain balance.

A channel that binds neurotransmitters (NTs) and ions, can be intracellular or extracellular.

A channel that changes conformation in response to changes in membrane potential.

Na+ is concentrated outside cells, K+ inside; affects cell's electrical properties.

Electrical potential of non-excitable and excitable cells at rest, around -70mV.

Membrane potential where electrical and concentration gradients for an ion are balanced; no net movement.

Calculates the equilibrium potential of an ion based on concentration outside and inside the cell.

The membrane potential where K+ concentration gradient moving outward is balanced by electrical gradient pulling inward.

A state used by muscle and nerve cells to generate action potentials, significant for signal transmission.

In PNS, damaged axon portion degenerates; Schwann cells help guide regeneration.

In CNS, oligodendrocytes inhibit axon growth after damage.

A synapse is the junction between two neurons where signals are transmitted.

Type of synapse allowing direct ion flow between two neurons in either direction.

Type of synapse using chemical messengers to transmit signals one way.

Excitatory postsynaptic potential; allows Na+ in and K+ out, causing hypopolarization.

Inhibitory postsynaptic potential; allows K+ out and Cl- in, causing hyperpolarization.

EPSPs and IPSPs can combine to create a grand postsynaptic potential (GPSP).

A condition caused by excessive cortisol production.

Autoimmune destruction of the adrenal cortex leading to cortisol deficiency.

Adrenal androgen important for sexual development and function.

Caused by adrenogenital syndrome, resulting in excessive androgens.

Inner part of the adrenal gland, involved in the stress response.

Hormones produced by the thyroid that regulate metabolism.

Process of releasing T3 and T4 from thyroid follicles into bloodstream.

Thyroid hormones increase basal metabolic rate (BMR).

Condition caused by insufficient thyroid hormones.

Excess production of thyroid hormones, often due to Graves’ disease.

Hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and regeneration.

Insulin-like growth factor stimulated by GH, promotes growth in tissues.

Excess growth hormone production before adulthood causes extreme height increase.

Excessive growth hormone in adults leads to enlarged body features.

Involves chondrocyte division and osteoblast activity for lengthening bones.

A substance that influences the number of neurotransmitter receptors in a postsynaptic neuron.

Part of the PNS that conveys signals from body receptors to the CNS.

Part of the PNS that sends signals from the CNS to muscles and glands.

Part of the autonomic nervous system that triggers the 'fight or flight' response.

Part of the autonomic nervous system that promotes 'rest and digest' functions.

Receptors that respond to acetylcholine (ACh), including nicotinic and muscarinic receptors.

Receptors that respond to norepinephrine and epinephrine, subdivided into alpha and beta.

An acronym indicating parasympathetic overload effects: Salivation, Lacrimation, Urination, Defecation, Death.

When an effector organ is innervated by both sympathetic and parasympathetic fibers.

Different patterns of hormone release, including pulsatile, basal, and sustained.

The interaction between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, regulating hormone release.

The biological process of steroid hormone production from cholesterol in the adrenal cortex.

Mechanisms by which hormones signal inside cells via G-proteins to activate or inhibit cellular responses.

The process where a small signal is increased through a cascade of reactions.

A hormone secreted by the pineal gland that regulates sleep-wake cycles.

Occurs when electrical and concentration gradients oppose each other equally, resulting in no net movement.

The membrane potential at which the concentration gradient for K+ is balanced by the electrical gradient, about -90mV.

The membrane potential where the inward sodium concentration gradient is balanced by the outward electrical gradient, about +61mV.

The ability of a membrane to allow certain ions to pass, affecting the membrane potential.

Any state of the membrane potential that is not at 0mV, indicating a charge difference.

The reduction in membrane potential making it less negative, typically moving towards zero.

The process of returning the membrane potential back to resting state after depolarization.

The increase in membrane potential making it more negative than the resting membrane potential (RMP).

A rapid and significant change in membrane potential that propagates along a neuron.

Describes that action potentials either occur fully or not at all, without partial responses.

The time after an action potential during which no new action potential can be initiated.

The period after an action potential when a new action potential can occur but requires a stronger stimulus.

Propagation of action potentials along unmyelinated axons, occurring at every segment.

Rapid propagation of action potentials in myelinated fibers where the impulse jumps between nodes of Ranvier.

The speed at which an action potential travels along a nerve, influenced by myelination and fiber diameter.