hyperpolarize

Examples of hyperpolarize in the following topics:

• Transduction of Light

  • Thus, unlike most other sensory neurons (which become depolarized by exposure to a stimulus), visual receptors become hyperpolarized and are driven away from the threshold .
  • Exposure of the retina to light hyperpolarizes the rods and cones, removing the inhibition of their bipolar cells.
  • As a result, the membrane becomes hyperpolarized.
  • The hyperpolarized membrane does not release glutamate to the bipolar cell.

• Nerve Impulse Transmission within a Neuron: Action Potential

  • The diffusion of K+ out of the cell hyperpolarizes the cell, making the membrane potential more negative than the cell's normal resting potential.
  • Eventually, the extra K+ ions diffuse out of the cell through the potassium leakage channels, bringing the cell from its hyperpolarized state back to its resting membrane potential.
  • At the same time, Na+ channels close. (4) The membrane becomes hyperpolarized as K+ ions continue to leave the cell.
  • The hyperpolarized membrane is in a refractory period and cannot fire. (5) The K+ channels close and the Na+/K+ transporter restores the resting potential.

• Synaptic Transmission

  • The neurotransmitter diffuses across the synaptic cleft and binds to ligand-gated ion channels in the postsynaptic membrane, resulting in a localized depolarization or hyperpolarization of the postsynaptic neuron.

• Balance and Determining Equilibrium

  • The moving otolith layer, in turn, bends the sterocilia to cause some hair cells to depolarize as others hyperpolarize.

• Nerve Impulse Transmission within a Neuron: Resting Potential

  • At the peak action potential, K+ channels open and the cell becomes (c) hyperpolarized.