Resting membrane potential

Resting membrane potential is the voltage difference across a cell membrane when the cell is not firing an action potential. It arises from unequal ion concentrations and selective membrane permeability.

Nernst equation: An equation relating an ion’s concentration gradient across a membrane to its equilibrium voltage. It predicts the voltage at which one ion’s electrical and chemical forces balance.
Membrane potential: The electrical potential difference between the inside and outside of a biological membrane. Resting membrane potential is the non-spiking state of this broader electrical quantity.
Action potential: A rapid, temporary change in membrane voltage that propagates along an excitable cell. It is the large transient voltage event that resting conditions precede and interrupt.
Excitable cell: A cell capable of producing electrical signals through changes in membrane voltage. Its resting voltage establishes the baseline from which electrical responses begin.
Threshold potential: The membrane voltage at which regenerative activation of voltage-gated channels initiates an action potential. The distance from rest to threshold helps determine how much excitation is needed to fire.
Goldman–Hodgkin–Katz equation: An equation estimating membrane voltage from multiple ions’ concentrations and relative permeabilities. It extends single-ion equilibrium to the mixed permeabilities that set resting voltage.
Ion: An atom or molecule with a net electric charge due to unequal numbers of protons and electrons. Charged ions carry the currents and concentration gradients that create membrane voltage.
Equilibrium potential: The membrane voltage at which a particular ion has no net movement across the membrane. A cell’s resting voltage reflects several ions and usually differs from each ion’s equilibrium potential.
Neuron: A specialized cell that receives, processes, and transmits information through electrical and chemical signals. Neuronal readiness to signal depends on maintaining a stable resting voltage.
Synaptic integration: The summation of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs in a neuron. Inputs shift voltage from its resting baseline, and their combined effects determine firing.

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