Chapter 14
Channels and the Electrical Properties of Membranes
![Aquaporins](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12173.jpg)
Aquaporins or AQPs are a family of integral membrane proteins whose primary function is to transport water, while some called aquaglyceroporins also…
![Non-gated Ion Channels](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12174.jpg)
Ion channels are specialized proteins on the plasma membrane that allow charged ions to pass down their electrochemical gradient. Their main function…
![Voltage-gated Ion Channels](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12245.jpg)
Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins that open and close in response to changes in the membrane potential. They are present on the…
![Mechanically-gated Ion Channels](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12246.jpg)
Mechanically-gated ion channels are proteins found in eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell membranes that open in response to mechanical stress. Tension,…
![Resting Membrane Potential](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12176.jpg)
The relative difference in electrical charge, or voltage, between the inside and the outside of a cell membrane, is called the membrane potential. It…
![Resting Potential Decay](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12177.jpg)
The resting membrane potential of a neuron (-70mV) is sustained due to the selective ion permeability of the membrane. At the resting potential, the…
![Channel Rhodopsins](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12179.jpg)
Most organisms use photoreceptors to sense and respond to light. Examples of photoreceptors include bacteriorhodopsins and bacteriophytochromes in…
![Patch Clamp](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12180.jpg)
Many fundamental cell functions such as muscle contraction and nerve transmission rely on the electrical signals produced by the movement of…
![Chemical Synapses](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/13113.jpg)
Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory…
![Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12182.jpg)
When an action potential reaches the presynaptic axon terminal, it releases neurotransmitters from the neuron into the synaptic cleft at a chemical…
![The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12184.jpg)
A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron…
![Long-term Potentiation](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/media/science-education/science-education-thumbs/12185.jpg)
Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in…
![Lipid Bilayer Experiments with Contact Bubble Bilayers for Patch-Clampers](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/thumbs/58840_t.png)
Lipid bilayers provide a unique experimental platform for functional studies of ion channels, allowing the examination of channel-membrane…
![Use of In Vivo Single-fiber Recording and Intact Dorsal Root Ganglion with Attached Sciatic Nerve to Examine the Mechanism of Conduction Failure](https://cloudfront.jove.com/files/thumbs/59234_t.png)
Single-fiber recording has been a classical and effective electrophysiological technique over the last few decades because of its specific…