Resting Potential

resting potential, the imbalance of electrical charge that exists between the interior of electrically excitable neurons (nerve cells) and their surroundings. The resting potential of electrically excitable cells lies in the range of −60 to −95 millivolts (1 millivolt = 0.001 volt), with the inside of the cell negatively charged. If the inside of a cell becomes more electronegative (i.e., if the potential is made greater than the resting potential), the membrane or the cell is said to be hyperpolarized. If the inside of the cell becomes less negative (i.e., the potential decreases below the resting potential), the process is called depolarization.

During the transmission of nerve impulses, the brief depolarization that occurs when the inside of the nerve cell fibre becomes positively charged is called the action potential. This brief alteration of polarization, thought to be caused by the shifting of positively charged sodium ions from the outside to the inside of the cell, results in the transmission of nerve impulses. After depolarization, the cell membrane becomes relatively permeable to positively charged potassium ions, which diffuse outward from the inside of the cell, where they normally occur in rather high concentration. The cell then resumes the negatively charged condition characteristic of the resting potential.