Synonyms
Definition
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.
Detailed Description
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
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Sterratt, D.C. (2022). Nernst Equation. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1006-0_232
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1006-0_232
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1004-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1006-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences