The resting membrane potential would be much higher than normal, with a value predicted by the Nernst equation, but the peak height of the action potential would not be affected. The peak height of the action potential would be higher than normal, but the resting membrane potential would not be greatly affected. Curare is a poisonous alkaloid that can be used as a muscle relaxant because it acts as a competitive inhibitor for acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a polar molecule and cannot pass through the membrane of the heart cell to affect its contraction. Describe three ways the activated G protein can affect the permeability of the membrane to ions.
Neurotransmitters can have either an excitatory or inhibitory effect on a postsynaptic cell.
Describe how the membrane potential of the postsynaptic cell changes in an inhibitory response as compared to an excitatory response. Circle all answers that are correct. One of the best understood examples of signal transduction in the nervous system is the response of rod cells in the retina to light. Describe the cascade of responses that occur in a rod cell when it is illuminated, and explain how these changes affect neurotransmitter release from the rod cell. Several compounds we have discussed in class are diagrammed below.