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Ionic Transport across Neural and Non-Neural Membranes

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PROPERTIES of MEMBRANES and Diseases of the Nervous System

Abstract

The ionic, or membrane theory of bioelectricity originated with Bernstein’s attempt in 1902 (cf. 7) to account for the negativity inside muscle and nerve cells relative to their outside. This explanation of the resting potential was based on the then recently developed theory of semi-permeable membranes and is no longer acceptable in the totality. However, Bernstein also contributed a suggestion which has been amply verified during the past quarter-century, that living membranes could change their permeability characteristics when excited by a stimulus. Thus, he was able to regard the electrogenic responses of all excitable cells, nerves and muscles, sensory and electric organs and glands as changes of the membrane potential from its resting state. As we shall see, these changes can be depolarizing or hyperpolarizing (repolarizing) in sign, but the former, particularly those which result in an all-or-none action potential or spike, are the more prominent and have been the most studied.

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  1. Harry Grundfest
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Grundfest, H. (1962). Ionic Transport across Neural and Non-Neural Membranes. In: PROPERTIES of MEMBRANES and Diseases of the Nervous System. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-39528-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-39528-8_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-38663-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-39528-8

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