Experiment 21

RC circuits and Signal Transmission of the Neuron

Purpose:
To study the charging of a capacitor under direct current and alternating current situations in order to understand the process of signal transmission along a neuron.

Apparatus:
Computer and Interface, Power supply, Power Amplifier, Knife Switch, Bread Board, Resistors (5000 ohm, 10 ohm), Capacitors, Wire Leads, Wire Strips, Multi-Meters.

Background
This lab will look at the transmission of a stimulus along the neuron. Before we can understand this situation we must first look at how a capacitor charges and discharges. This experiment will first look at the dynamics of a capacitors charging and then apply these ideas to the neuron.

RC Circuits
C R

Switch

Figure 1. Illustration of a capacitor and resistor in series with a power supply. When the switch is closed then the capacitor will begin to charge.

Let us first look at a resistor and capacitor connected to a power supply as shown in figure 1. It should be obvious that when the capacitor is fully charged, that the potential across the plates of the capacitor will be equal to the potential across the battery. This potential difference will not appear instantaneously across the capacitor when the switch is closed. Initially, with switch open, there is no current moving in the circuit and the capacitor has no charge on it. At time t = 0 the switch is assumed to be closed and a current will begin to move through the resistor. No current will pass through the capacitor. Remember that a capacitor is composed of two separated plates and there is no way for a charge to cross the gap between the plates of the capacitor. At this instant the voltage across the capacitor is zero because there is no charge on the capacitor.

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C=

q . V

Eq. 1

At this instant of time, the voltage across the resistor is equal to the voltage of the power supply, and the current moving through the resistor is given by Ohms law. As time goes by, the charge moving through the resistor accumulates on the plates of the capacitor. According to Kirchhoffs voltage loop rule, the total voltage of the power supply will begin to be divided up between the capacitor and the resistor. From Ohms law we can see that the reduction of voltage across the resistor leads to a smaller current moving through the circuit. The reduction in current moving through the circuit means that over time less charge will accumulate on the plates of the capacitor. The over all effect of this process is that the charge deposited on the plates of the capacitor varies with time according to the expression
t

q = Q(1 e RC ) .
We can express this equation in terms of the voltage across the capacitor

Eq. 2

v = V (1 e

t RC

).

Eq. 3

Both of these equations are exponential equations where e = 2.718.... In equation 2, q represents the amount of charge on the capacitor and Q is the maximum charge that will be placed upon the capacitor. Likewise, in equation 3, v represents the potential difference across the capacitor and V represents the EMF of the power supply. In both of these equations t represents the amount of time that passes by from t = 0, and R and C represent the values of the resistor and capacitor within the circuit. Notice that these equations indicate that the capacitor will never become fully charged. The term RC is called the time constant of the circuit and usually denoted by the symbol . The time constant represents the time required for the charge to increase from zero to 63.2% of the maximum value. This indicates that if we want the capacitor to charge rapidly we will bring values of R and C together that give a small time constant value. If we look at how the value of the voltage across the resistor varies with time we will see it follows the expression

v = Ve

t RC

Eq. 4

Here v represents the voltage across the resistor at any time, V represents the EMF of the power supply, R and C are the values of the resistor and capacitor respectively.
C R

S w itch

Figure 2. Illustration of a charged capacitor in series with a resistor. When the switch is closed the charge will move through the resistor to the other side of the plate of the capacitor.

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Let us suppose that the capacitor is fully charged and the power supply is removed as figure 2 illustrates. The potential across the capacitor is at a maximum and is equal to Q/C. When the knife edge is closed the charge will flow from one capacitor plate to the other through the resistor. In this case equation 4 can be used to describe the voltage drop across both the capacitor and the resistor.

AC Circuits
An ac circuit consist of electronic components and a generator which provides a current which varies in time. When the generator is connected to a resistor the voltage across the resistor will change over time exactly as does the generator voltage. According to Ohms law the current will vary in the exact same way at the exact same time as the voltage. Since the current and the voltage reach their maximum and minimum values at the same time, they are said to be in phase. When a capacitor is in an ac circuit we find that the voltage and current do not reach their minimum and maximums at the same time. As we saw with the capacitor in the dc circuit the voltage reaches a maximum when the current has stopped moving through the circuit. This is when the maximum voltage across the capacitor is equal to the maximum voltage across the power supply. This implies that the current is not in step with the voltage of the power supply. It is said that the voltage across the capacitor lags behind the current by 900. In the second part of this experiment we will look at a capacitor in an ac circuit and determine the relationship between the current and the voltage of the capacitor.

Neuron
We have already seen that when a neuron is in its steady state then a potential difference of approximately 70 mV exists between the inside and outside of the cell membrane. This is created by the cell actively transporting sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane. The net flow is caused by two processes labeled active and passive flows. The passive flow of sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane are caused by diffusion and electrical forces. The passive flow will create an equilibrium across the cell membrane. In order to have a potential difference across the cell membrane existing some mechanism must be responsible. This pumping mechanism creates a current across the cell membrane. Because of the passive flow there is always a current created across the membrane that tries to place the cell in equilibrium. We can now look at the cells response to a weak stimulus. A weak stimulus is one in which the intensity of the stimulus is below a critical threshold level. If the stimulus is above the threshold level the stimulus produces a current pulse through the axon without attenuation. If the stimulus is weak then the nerve cell registers the stimulus and transmits it for a short distance along the cells length. The stimulus pulse travels a short distance down the nerve cell before it is completely attenuated.
R C R R R C R C R R C R R C

Figure 3. This figure gives an idea of how to model the neuron as a group of segments of resistors and capacitors. The value of R is the value of the resistance along the length of the axon. R represents the leakage current through the cell membrane and C represents the capacitance of the cell membrane. The bottom picture represents a schematic of several segments linked together. The switch closing represents a stimulus to the cell.

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We can look at the axon as many short segments. Each segment consists of a series of resistors and a capacitor. In our analogy each segment of the axon has a small resistance R. The passive flow across the membrane constitutes another small leakage current. This current allows some of the signal that moves down the axon to leak out across the cell membrane to the outside. The cell membrane also acts like a capacitor. This analogy is seen in figure 3. When the switch is closed, the first capacitor begins to charge. The second capacitor will take longer to charge because the total resistance is 2R. As more and more RC pairs are added the potential difference across each capacitor rises more slowly. The effect of the leakage current across the cell membrane reduces the total potential difference across the capacitor. This means that the capacitor will never obtain the voltage of the power supply. As more and more segments are added the smaller the potential difference becomes until finally the signal is completely attenuated. In review, when a stimulus is applied to a cell the potential across the cell begins to change slowly. As one moves farther down the cell the charge accrues more slowly until the magnitude diminishes completely.

Set-up and Procedures: Part 1, charging of the capacitor.

Construct the following circuit using the bread board, power supply, knife switch, the 5000 ohm resistor and the 220 F capacitor as shown in figure 4. Use the Multi-meter to set the power supply to 5.1 volts. Connect the voltage probe from channel B across the resistor and the voltage probe from channel C across the capacitor. Using the datastudio program open activity RCcircuit.ds. Press the start key on the computer then close the knife switch. The computer will collect the data as soon as it senses the voltage change across the resistor. Stop taking data by clicking the stop button after 4 seconds. Use the fit key to find the equation that fits the resistor curve displayed on the monitor. If the equation is exponential, like equation 1 or 2, then compare the coefficients with those of the theoretical values. For example, find out if the exponent multiplying term (C) from the fit is equal to 1/RC. On the capacitor curve determine 63.2% of the maximum voltage (V(t=)) value from the data gathered. Using this new voltage value find the amount of time for the capacitor to reach 63.2% of its maximum value. Find out if that time is equal to RC. Look at equation 3 to understand why the voltage should have .632 V(t=) at t = RC. Make a print out of this screen.
To Channel C To Channel B Red Black C R

Red

Black

Switch

Red

Black

Figure 4. Illustration of the circuit to study in part 1. Use the 450 ohm resistor for R.

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Tips:
1) You must discharge the capacitor before each run by connecting a conductor across both legs of the capacitor when the knife switch is open. A penny will do. 2) The shift function on the fit for the capacitor is not working, so just fit the resistor signal. 3) Common grounding may make for signals that are reversed in sign from that expected from equations 3 and 4. Just multiply by 1 and put the data in a new column and graph the new data for the print out.

Part 2, Phase of a resistor and capacitor in an ac circuit

Construct the following circuit and use the datastudio program ACcircuit.ds to control the voltage generator. The resistor should be less than 100 ohms, preferably, 10 ohms.

Switch

Voltage Generator plugged into channel C

Figure 5. This is an illustration of the equipment setup in part 2. Use the power amplifier for the voltage generator and the computer to control the output frequency of the unit (meaning the voltage generator connection to channel C is not shown in this figure).

Use the datastudio program ACcircuits to control the voltage generator. Set the output voltage of the voltage generator to 2 volts. The waveform should be a sine wave and the output should be displayed as the red line at approximately 200 Hz. The current from the power supply will now be displayed in green and the voltage of the generator will be displayed in red. Again make special note as to the phase of the voltage of the generator and current of the circuit, displayed as the output voltage across channel C and the response current through channel C. Adjust the volts/division arrow on the display until you are able to clearly see both signals.

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Construct the following circuit.

Switch

Voltage Generator plugged into channel C

Figure 6. Illustration of the equipment set-up to study the capacitor in an ac circuit.

The screen will display the output voltage of the generator in red and the current through the capacitor in green. Note the phase difference between these two signals. Though we have not talked about it, the impedance (resistance) of the capacitor is frequency dependent. Record the peak to trough current for a set of frequencies ranging from 50 Hz to 250 Hz by 50 Hz steps. Make a graph of peak to trough current versus frequency using excel. Use the equation for the impedance

1 , 2fC

Eq. 5

to interpret the graph and compare the theoretical predicted slope to the experimental slope of the data.

Part 3 simulation of a stimulus of the neuron.

Construct the following circuit. Use the 2000 ohm resistor for R and the 450 ohm resistor for R. Connect the voltage probe from channel A across the first capacitor, voltage probe from channel B across the second capacitor, and the voltage probe from channel C to the third capacitor. Use the DC power supply as the power source. This time use the Data monitor for windows program and open a file named exp18b.exp. When the program is ready to take data press the enter key and close the knife switch. Analyze the three curves on the computer as to the best equation that fit the curves. Calculate the theoretical time constant and compare this to the time constant given by the analysis of the graphs just performed. Compare each of the time constants and determine if it is true that the farther away from the stimulus, the switch, the longer it takes for the signal to reach its maximum value. Does the signal get attenuated by the leakage resistor. Make a print out of the graph. Repeat this experiment one more time; this time remove the leakage resistors. Repeat the above analysis. How do the leakage resistors influence the signal being transferred.

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To Channel B

To Channel C

To Channel A

Figure 7. Illustration of the neuron simulation. Use the dc power supply as the power source.

Questions: 1) Did you obtain the expected exponential dependence of the capacitor voltage and the resistor voltage? 2) Was there a phase difference between the current and the voltage in the capacitor? What was the phase difference? 3) Was the frequency dependence of the impedance of the capacitor consistent with the expected value? Problems: 1) When the time since the closing of the knife switch is equal to RC, is the voltage across the resistor equal to 63.2 % of the original voltage or 36.8 % of the original voltage? 2) What is the % of the voltage maximum across the capacitor at this same time? 3) Using equation 5) and V = IR =IX, calculate the expected slope of the graph of Peak to Peak current Vs. Frequency.

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