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A labeled diagram of an action potential.As seen above, repolarization takes place just after the peak of the action potential, when K + ions rush out of the cell.. In neuroscience, repolarization refers to the change in membrane potential that returns it to a negative value just after the depolarization phase of an action potential which has changed the membrane potential to a positive value.
Repolarization occurs when K + channels open and K + moves out of the axon, creating a change in electric polarity between the outside of the cell and the inside. The impulse travels down the axon in one direction only, to the axon terminal where it signals other neurons.
K ir channels close upon depolarization, slowing membrane repolarization and helping maintain a more prolonged cardiac action potential. This type of inward-rectifier channel is distinct from delayed rectifier K + channels , which help repolarize nerve and muscle cells after action potentials ; and potassium leak channels , which provide much ...
During single action potentials, transient depolarization of the membrane opens more voltage-gated K + channels than are open in the resting state, many of which do not close immediately when the membrane returns to its normal resting voltage. This can lead to an "undershoot" of the membrane potential to values that are more polarized ...
Ion channels may be classified by gating, i.e. what opens and closes the channels. For example, voltage-gated ion channels open or close depending on the voltage gradient across the plasma membrane, while ligand-gated ion channels open or close depending on binding of ligands to the channel. [14]
Specific domains of the channel subunits have been identified that are responsible for voltage-sensing and converting between the open and closed conformations of the channel. There are at least two closed conformations. In the first, the channel can open if the membrane potential becomes more positive.
Voltage-gated sodium channels have two gating mechanisms, the activation mechanism that opens the channel with depolarization and the inactivation mechanism that closes the channel with repolarization. While the channel is in the inactive state, it will not open in response to depolarization. The period when the majority of sodium channels ...
At this point, the calcium ion channels close and potassium channels open, allowing outflux of K + and resulting in repolarization. When the membrane potential reaches approximately −60 mV, the K + channels close and Na + channels open, and the prepotential phase begins again. This process gives the autorhythmicity to cardiac muscle. [1]