Question icon
Grade 11Zoology

Respected teacher,During repolarization potassium ions move outside the axonal membrane . Shouldn`t it be the sodium ions moving out as their concentration is more outside the membrane to regain the resting potentialThank you in advance for the answer

Profile image of Navdeep Dhingra
9 Years agoGrade 11
Answers icon

1 Answer

Profile image of Dr.Adam Shaik
ApprovedApproved Tutor Answer9 Years ago
Hai, Navdeep Dhingra,Interesting question.
1.The Na+ channels are closed during repolarization stage,
(Thus K+ causes balance in charge) where as K+ channels facilitate the movement of Na+ ions outside the membrane
This occurs becasue the Potassium ion channels allow both Na+ and K+.
Later the number of potassium ions decreases outside the membrane.
Go through the below image for further clarification.
The yellow doors represent Na+ ion channels
and blue are for K+ ion channels
519-1345_7-neurons-20-638.jpg