THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

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 WHAT PARTS DO YOU KNOW THAT ARE IN
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM?
• Brain
• Spinal Cord

• Peripheral Nerves

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 WHAT MAKES UP THE BRAIN, THE SPINAL
CORD OR YOUR PERIPHERAL NERVES?
• Neurons are “the cell”
• Cell body
• Nucleus
• Axon
• Dendrite QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

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 HOW ARE NEURONS CONNECTED?
• Synapses!!

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 WHY ARE NEURONS CONNECTED?

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 Synaptic transmission: communication between neurons

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 Close up look at your synapse
AXON

What is this
The synapse -
in the
where the action
membrane?
happens

The next cell’s plasma Transport

membrane protein

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 THERE ARE LOTS OF PROTEINS AND CHEMICALS IN
YOUR BODY TO DO THE WORK

Why is it important that it is an electrical current?

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 ARE ALL NEURONS EQUAL IN SIZE?
• Brain vs spinal cord vs peripheral nerves?

About how many neurons are in the human brain? 100 billion

About how many neurons are in the spinal cord? 1 billion

How long do you think the longest axon in the world is? around 15 feet

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 How many synapses
are in one neuron?
1,000 to 10,000!!

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 THE SYNAPSE

WHERE NERVE IMPULSES CONVERT

TO NEUROTRANSMITTERS

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 • The synapse is where the nerve impulse passes from one cell
to the next
• The electrical signal (the action potential) stops and a
chemical signal takes over to cross the gap between the cells
• The chemical messenger is called a neurotransmitter
• The neurotransmitter crosses the gap by diffusion, which
creates a small delay

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 DESIGNER SIGNALS
• The advantage of using neurotransmitter is that the nerve
impulse can be given some more specificity
• Neurotransmitters can also control the operation of the
nervous system by inhibition or excitation
• Many drugs that try to cure problems in the nervous system
operate at synapses

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 NEUROTRANSMITTERS AND HORMONES
• In many ways neurotransmitters are hormones working over
a very short distance (about 20nm)
• Some of them work both at synapses and in the circulatory
system

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 1. Action potential
arrives at terminal button
Vesicle storing
neurotransmitter

Ca2+
channel

Membrane receptor
for neurotransmitter

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 3. Ca2+
stimulates
2. Depolarisation
opens Ca2+ vesicles to fuse
with membrane
channels
Ca2+ enters
terminal button Ca2+ Ca2+ Ca2+ Ca2+
4. Exocytosis of
neurotransmitter
It diffuses 20nm
across the synaptic
cleft

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 THE PASSAGE ACROSS THE SYNAPSE
• An action potential travels down an axon to the terminal
buttons or synaptic knobs at the end
• The action potential depolarises the membrane of a
terminal button causing voltage-gated Ca2+ channels to
open
• Ca2+ ions flood into the terminal button
• This stimulates hundreds of synaptic vesicles, packed with
neurotransmitter, to fuse with the membrane of the
terminal button
• By exocytosis
• The Ca2+ ions are then pumped out again

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 5. Neurotransmitter
receptor sites on the
postsynaptic membrane
are ion channels.
They open when the
neurotransmitter binds

6. Localised
depolarisation as
ions leak in or out
of membrane.

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 THE PASSAGE ACROSS THE SYNAPSE
• The neurotransmitter diffuses across cleft to
postsynaptic membrane
• The neurotransmitter molecules bind with specific
receptor sites on postsynaptic membrane
• The receptor sites are part of a ligand-gated ion
channel
• These channels let Na+ ions in or K+ ions out causing
localised depolarisation of the membrane

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 8. Neurotransmitter
destroyed by enzymes
in the cleft. Stops
7. Action potential
signal being
generated which
travels down the perpetuated.
postsynaptic cell.

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 A NEW ACTION POTENTIAL
• If the localised depolarisations build up to the nerve cell
threshold, a full action potential will be produced
• This will travel away, down the postsynaptic neurone
• The action of the neurotransmitters stops:
(i) as they dilute by diffusion in the synaptic cleft
(ii) by hydrolysis through the action of enzymes there
• Important: The signal must not be perpetuated
indefinitely

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 THE NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTION IS A SYNAPSE
• The motor end plate is the terminal button of a motor
neurone that makes contact with a muscle cell
• The motor end plate releases the neurotransmitter
acetylcholine that ultimately causes the muscle cell to contract

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 BIOPOTENTIAL ELECTRODES

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 Introduction

Biopotentials arise from cells, and more generally from organs. They hold rich
physiological and clinical information. For example, action potentials give
information on fundamental ion channel biophysics and molecular aspects of
any pathology. Biopotentials from the organs of the body are of clinical
diagnostic significance.

Examples:

1. Action Potentials from Cells (and 3 Nobel prizes!)

Neuronal action potential
(history of Squid axon and Hodgkin-Huxley work)
2. Biopotentials from the organ/body
1. Electrocardiogram (ECG) from heart -> use in heart attack, pacemakers
2. Electroencephalogram (EEG) from brain -> use in epilepsy, brain trauma
3. Electromyogram (EMG) from muscle -> use in muscle diseases, prosthesis
4. Others…

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 OUTLINE
-Basic mechanism of transduction process
-Electrical characteristics of biopotential electrodes
-Different type of biopotential electrodes
-Electrodes used for ECG, EEG, MEG, and
intracellular electrodes

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 BIOPOTENTIAL ELECTRODES
- A transducer that convert the body ionic current in the body into the
traditional electronic current flowing in the electrode.

- Able to conduct small current across the interface between the body
and the electronic measuring circuit.

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 ELECTRODE-ELECTROLYTE INTERFACE
Oxidation reaction causes atom to lose electron
Reduction reaction causes atom to gain electron
Oxidation is dominant when the current flow is from electrode to
electrolyte, and reduction dominate when the current flow is in the
opposite.
Oxidation Reduction

C  C n  ne 
anion

cation

Current flow Current flow

C  C n   ne 

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 HALF-CELL POTENTIAL
Half-Cell potential is determined by
-Metal involved
-Concentration of its ion in solution
-Temperature
-And other second order factor
C  C n   ne 
C  C n   ne 

Certain mechanism separate charges at the metal-electrolyte interface results in one

type of charge is dominant on the surface of the metal and the opposite charge is
concentrated at the immediately adjacent electrolyte.

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 CURRENT FLOW AT THE ELECTRODE-ELECTROLYTE INTERFACE
 Ion- flow • Electrons move in opposite
 Electron flow
Ion+ flow 
direction to current flow
+
• Cations (C ) move in same
direction as current flow
–
• Anions (A ) move in opposite
direction of current flow
• Chemical oxidation (current flow
right) - reduction (current flow
left) reactions at the interface:
+ –
C C +e (1)
+ Current flow  – –
A A + e (2)
Figure 1 The current crosses it from left
to right. The electrode consists of • No current at equilibrium
metallic atoms C. The electrolyte is an
aqueous solution containing cations of
the electrode metal C+ and anions A-.

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 HALF-CELL POTENTIAL

• When metal (C) contacts electrolyte, oxidation (C  C + + e –) or reduction (A-  A + e –)

begins immediately.

• Local concentration of cations at the surface changes.

• Charge builds up in the regions.

• Electrolyte surrounding the metal assumes a different electric potential from the rest of the solution.

• This potential difference is called the half-cell potential ( E0 ).

• Separation of charge at the electrode-electrolyte interface results in a electric double layer

(bilayer).

• Measuring the half-cell potential requires the use of a second reference electrode.

• By convention, the hydrogen electrode is chosen as the reference.

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 HALF-CELL POTENTIAL
Half-cell potential for common
electrode materials at 25 oC

Standard Hydrogen electrode

Electrochemists have adopted the Half-Cell

potential for hydrogen electrode to be zero.
Half-Cell potential for any metal electrode
is measured with respect to the hydrogen
electrode.

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 http://www.splung.com/content/sid/3/page/batteries

Reduction Oxidation

http://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/batteries/basic_principles.php
http://www.blackgold.ab.ca/ict/Division4/Science/Div.%204/Voltaic%20Cells/Voltaic.htm

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 POLARIZATION
Half cell potential is altered when there is current flowing in the electrode due to
electrode polarization.
Overpotential is the difference between the observed half-cell potential with current
flow and the equilibrium zero-current half-cell potential.
Mechanism Contributed to overpotential
- Ohmic overpotential: voltage drop along the path of the current, and current
changes resistance of electrolyte and thus, a voltage drop does not follow ohm’s law.

- Concentration overpotential: Current changes the distribution of ions at the

electrode-electrolyte interface

- Activation overpotential: current changes the rate of oxidation and reduction.

Since the activation energy barriers for oxidation and reduction are different, the net
activation energy depends on the direction of current and this difference appear as
voltage. 0
Vp  E VR VC VA
Note: Polarization and impedance of the electrode are two of the most important
electrode properties to consider.

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 HALF CELL POTENTIAL AND NERNST
EQUATION
When two ionic solutions of different concentration are separated by
semipermeable membrane, an electric potential exists across the
membrane.
RT  a1 
E ln  
nF  a2 
a1 and a2 are the activity of the ions on each side of the membrane.
Ionic activity is the availability of an ionic species in solution to enter
into a reaction.
Note: ionic activity most of the time equal the concentration of the ion
If the activity is not unity (activity does not equal concentration) then
the cell potential is RT
n
C  C  ne 
E  E0 
nF
 
ln aC n 
For the general oxidation-reduction reaction, the Nernst equation for
half cell potential is RT  aC a D 
0
EE  ln    
A  B  C  D  ne  nF  a A aB 

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 EXAMPLE 5.1
An electrode consisting of a piece of Zn with an attached wire and
another electrode consisting of a piece of Ag coated with a layer of
AgCl and an attached wire are placed in a 1 M ZnCl2 solution
(activities of Zn2+ and Cl- are approximately unity) to form an
electrochemical cell that is maintained at a temperature of 25 oC.

a. What chemical reactions might you expect to see at these

electrodes?
b. If a very high input impedance voltmeter were connected between
these electrodes, what would it read?
c. If the lead wires from the electrodes were shorted together, would a
current flow? How would this affect the reactions at the electrodes?
d. How would you expect the voltage of the cell immediately
following removal of the short circuit?

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 POLARIZABLE AND NONPOLARIZABLE
ELECTRODES

Perfectly Polarizable Electrodes

Electrodes in which no actual charge crosses the electrode-electrolyte
interface when a current is applied. The current across the interface is
a displacement current and the electrode behaves like a capacitor.
Overpotential is due concentration. Example : Platinum electrode
Perfectly Non-Polarizable Electrode
Electrodes in which current passes freely across the electrode-
electrolyte interface, requiring no energy to make the transition. These
electrodes see no overpotentials. Example: Ag/AgCl Electrode

Example: Ag-AgCl is used in recording while Pt is used in stimulation

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 The Silver/Silver Chloride Electrode
Approach the characteristic of a perfectly nonpolarizable electrode
Advantage of Ag/AgCl is that it is stable in liquid that has large
quantity of Cl- such as the biological fluid.
1.5 v

Ag/AgCl exhibits less

electric noise than the
equivalent metallic Ag
electrode.
Ag

AgCl
Cl 

Ag  Ag   e 
Ag   Cl   AgCl 

Read in text other process to make electrode such as sintering process.

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 The Silver/Silver Chloride Electrode
Silver chloride’s rate of precipitation and of returning to solution is a
constant Ks know as the solubility product.

K s  a Ag   aCl   1010
For biological fluid where Cl- ion is relatively high aCl   1

0
E  E Ag 
RT
nF
 
ln a Ag 

0 RT  K s 
EE Ag  ln  
nF  aCl  

0 RT RT
E  E Ag  ln K s  ln aCl 
nF nF

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 Example 5.2
An AgCl surface is grown on an Ag electrode by the electrolytic
process described in the previous paragraph. The current passing
through the cell is measured and recorded during the growth of the
AgCl layer and is found to be represented by the equation
I = 100e-t/10s mA
a) If the reaction is allowed to run for a long period of time, so that the
current at the end of this period is essentially zero; how much
charge is removed from the battery during this reaction?
b) How many grams of AgCl are deposited on the Ag electrode’s
surface by this reaction?

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 Electrode Behavior and Circuit Models
metal + - Electrolyte
+ -
+ -
Rd and Cd make up the + -
impedance associated with + -
electrode-electrolyte interface + -
+ -
and polarization effects. + -

Rs is associated with interface

effects and due to resistance in
the electrolyte.

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 Characteristic of Electrode
The characteristic of an electrode is
- Sensitive to current density
- Waveform and frequency dependent

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 Electrode Behavior and Circuit Models
metal + - Electrolyte
+ -
+ -
+ -
+ -
+ -
+ -
+ -

1 cm2 nickel-and carbon-loaded silicone rubber electrode

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 Electrode Behavior and Circuit Models
To model an electrode (test electrode), it was placed in a physiological saline bath in
the laboratory, along with an Ag/AgCl electrode (reference electrode) having a much
grater surface area and a known half-cell potential of 0.233 V. The dc voltage
between the two electrodes is measured with a very-high-impedance voltmeter and
found to be 0.572 V with the test electrode negative. The magnitude of the impedance
between the two electrodes is measured as a function of frequency at very low
currents; it is shown below. From these data, determine a circuit model for the electrode.

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 Electrode Behavior and Circuit Models
0.572
- +

Ex 0.233 V

Test Electrode Reference Electrode

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 The Electrode-Skin Interface
and Motion Artifact
Transparent electrolyte gel containing Cl- is used to maintain good
contact between the electrode and the skin.

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 The Electrode-Skin Interface
For 1 cm2, skin impedance Ehe

reduces from approximately

Electrode Cd Rd
200K at 1Hz to 200 at
1MHz. Sweat glands
Gel Rs and ducts

Ese EP

Epidermis
Ce Re CP RP

Dermis and
subcutaneous layer Ru

A body-surface electrode is placed against skin, showing the total

electrical equivalent circuit obtained in this situation. Each circuit
element on the right is at approximately the same level at which the
physical process that it represents would be in the left-hand diagram.

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 Motion Artifact
When polarizable electrode is in contact with an electrolyte, a double
layer of charge forms at the interface. Movement of the electrode will
disturb the distribution of the charge and results in a momentary
change in the half cell potential until equilibrium is reached again.
Motion artifact is less minimum for nonpolarizable electrodes.

Signal due to motion has low frequency so it can be filtered out when
measuring a biological signal of high frequency component such as
EMG or axon action potential. However, for ECG, EEG and EOG
whose frequencies are low it is recommended to use nonpolarizable
electrode to avoid signals due to motion artifact.

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 Body-Surface Recording Electrode
Metal-Plate Electrodes

Body-surface biopotential electrodes (a) Metal-plate electrode used

for application to limbs. (b) Metal-disk electrode applied with surgical
tape. (c) Disposable foam-pad electrodes, often used with
electrocardiograph monitoring apparatus.

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 Body-Surface Recording Electrode
Suction Electrodes

A metallic suction electrode is often used as a precordial electrode on

clinical electrocardiographs. No need for strap or adhesive and can be
used frequently. Higher source impedance since the contact area is
small

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 Body-Surface Recording Electrode
Floating Electrodes Metal disk
Insulating
package

Double-sided
Adhesive-tape
ring Electrolyte gel
in recess

(a) (b)
Snap coated with Ag-AgCl External snap
Gel-coated sponge
Plastic cup Plastic disk

Foam pad Tack Dead cellular material

Capillary loops Germinating layer
(c)
The recess in this electrode is formed from an open foam disk, saturated
with electrolyte gel and placed over the metal electrode. Minimize
motion artifact

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 Body-Surface Recording Electrode
Flexible Electrodes

Flexible body-surface
electrodes (a) Carbon-
filled silicone rubber
electrode. (b) Flexible
thin-film neonatal
electrode.
(c) Cross-sectional view
of the thin-film electrode
in (b).

Used for newborn infants.

Compatible with X-ray
Electrolyte hydrogel material is used to hold electrodes to the skin.

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 Internal Electrodes
No electrolyte-skin interface
No electrolyte gel is required

Needle and wire electrodes for

percutaneous measurement of
biopotentials (a) Insulated
needle electrode. (b) Coaxial
needle electrode. (c) Bipolar
coaxial electrode. (d) Fine-wire
electrode connected to
hypodermic needle, before
being inserted. (e) Cross-
sectional view of skin and
muscle, showing coiled fine-wire
electrode in place.
For EMG Recording

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 Internal Electrodes

Electrodes for detecting fetal electrocardiogram during labor, by

means of intracutaneous needles (a) Suction electrode. (b) Cross-
sectional view of suction electrode in place, showing penetration of
probe through epidermis. (c) Helical electrode, which is attached to
fetal skin by corkscrew type action.

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 Electrode Arrays
Insulated leads
Contacts
Ag/AgCl electrodes

Ag/AgCl electrodes
Contacts

Base
Insulated leads Base (b)

(a)
Exposed tip Tines

(a) One-dimensional plunge electrode array

10mm long, 0.5mm wide, and 125m thick,
used to measure potential distribution in the
beating myocardium (b) Two-dimensional
array, used to map epicardial potential and Base

(c) Three-dimensional array, each tine is 1,5 (c)

mm

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 Microelectrodes
N = Nucleus
Used in studying the electrophysiology C = Cytoplasm
A
of excitable cells by measure potential Insulation Metal rod B
differences across the cell membrane. Cell
membrane
Cd Tissue fluid
+ + Membrane Reference
+  
+ + potential electrode
+ C  +
Electrode need to be small and strong +
+ N
 +
 +
+
   +
to penetrate the cell membrane without + +       +
+ + + + + +

damaging the cell.

Tip diameters = 0.05 to 10 m

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 Microelectrodes

The structure of a metal

microelectrode for intracellular
recordings.

Figure 5.18 Structures of two supported metal microelectrodes (a) Metal-filled

glass micropipet. (b) Glass micropipet or probe, coated with metal film.

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 Microelectrodes

A glass micropipet electrode filled with an electrolytic solution (a) Section of fine-bore
glass capillary. (b) Capillary narrowed through heating and stretching. (c) Final structure of
glass-pipet microelectrode.

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 Electrodes For Electric Stimulation of Tissue
i

t
Current and voltage
waveforms seen with u
Polarization
potential
electrodes used for Ohmic Polarization
potential potential
electric stimulation (a) t
Constant-current (a)

stimulation. (b) Constant- u

voltage stimulation.
t

i
Polarization

Polarization t
(b)

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