The University of Cambridge has long been instrumental in shaping what we know about the function of excitable cells, several Nobel Prizes in this area having been awarded to Cambridge researchers. In this short course, Dr Matt Mason from the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience will draw on this rich history to explain how nerve, muscle and other excitable cells work.
We shall begin with the fundamental topic of electrochemical gradients, which drive ions across membranes. Electrochemical gradients arise from an imbalance between electrical and concentration-based forces, and we shall explore where these come from and how we could calculate an ion’s ‘equilibrium potential’, at which point forces are balanced. If an ion is maintained away from that point, we can harness its tendency to cross a membrane in a particular direction, a principle which is central to cellular physiology in all organisms. Excitable cells such as sensory receptor cells, neurons and muscle cells are special in that they can exploit electrochemical gradients to develop and propagate electrical signals - a phenomenon ultimately underlying everything that humanity has ever accomplished! Dr Mason will explain how these cells work from basic principles, going on to explore how nerve cells intercommunicate, activate muscles, make decisions and transduce information from the environment into the electrical signals that our brains can understand. The four lectures will be supported by an experimental class in which you will be able to stimulate and record electrical signals from your own arm, and measure the conduction velocity of your ulnar nerve.
This course represents an introduction to the fundamentals of neurobiology, at a level equivalent to what we teach first-year science students here in Cambridge. It will be particularly suitable for biology undergraduates/graduates with limited neurobiology experience, who would like to know more about the physical and chemical basis of electrical signalling within cells.
Learning outcomes
- To have a deeper understanding of the fundamental processes underlying the electrical signalling properties of excitable cells;
- To appreciate how we use excitable cells within the body for the purposes of sensation and communication;
- To appreciate how biological experimentation, combined with an understanding of some basic physics and chemistry, has contributed to what we know about the function of excitable cells, focusing on the particular contributions of Nobel Laureates who have worked in Cambridge.
