The Importance Of Resting Potential

Resting potential is created by a transport protein called the sodium-potassium pump. Resting potential occurs when ions are distributed unequally on the inside and outside of cells, and when cell membranes are selectively permeable to different ions.
K+ is particularly important for the resting potential. The membrane is highly permeable to K+. In addition, the inside of the cell has a high concentration of K+ and the outside of the cell has a low concentration of K+. K+ will naturally diffuse from high concentration to low concentration. The positive K+ ions leave the inner surface of the membrane leave behind some negatively charged ions.
The negative charge attracts the positive charge of the K+ ion that is leaving and pulls it back. Therefore there will be an electrical force directed inward to counterbalance the force directed outward. Eventually, an equilibrium will be formed; the concentration force moving K+ out will balance the electrical force holding it in. The potential at which that balance is achieved is called the nernst equilibrium potential (University of Texas, 2016). When a stimulus reaches a resting neuron, the neuron transmits the signal as an impulse called an action potential.
This causes the sodium channels, called gated ion channels, in the neuron’s membrane to open. They are called gated ion channels because of their ability to open and close in response to signals like electrical changes. The Na+ ions that were outside the membrane are then able to rush into the cell. When the Na+ ions enter the neuron, the cell’s electrical potential becomes more