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The Nernst equation describes how the equilibrium potential for an ion species (also known as its Nernst potential) is related to the concentrations of that ion species on either side of a membrane permeable to the ion.
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Physical Basis of the Equilibrium Potential
The membrane potential is the electric potential difference that exists across a membrane which is permeable to an ionic species and which separates solutions of the ionic species at differing concentrations. For example, cell membranes are often permeable to potassium, and the concentration of potassium inside the cell is greater than the concentration outside the cell. Negatively changed anions balance out the positive charge of potassium ions so that the charge inside and outside the cell is neutral, and the membrane is assumed to be impermeable to the anions (Fig. 1).
References
Hille B (2001) Ion channels of excitable membranes, 3rd edn. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland
Johnston D, Wu SM-S (1995) Foundations of cellular neurophysiology. MIT, Cambridge, MA
Nernst W (1888) Zur kinetik der lösung befindlichen Körper: theorie der diffusion. Z Phys Chem 2:613–637
Sterratt D, Graham B, Gillies A, Willshaw D (2011) Principles of computational modelling in neuroscience. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
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Sterratt, D.C. (2014). Nernst Equation. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_232-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_232-3
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