Chapter 12, Problem 3P

Beta blockers are drugs that interfere with stimulation of organs by nerves of the sympathetic system. Would these drugs be useful in treating excessively high blood pressure or excessively low blood pressure?

Figure 35.11 Potassium channel blockers, such as amiodarone and procainamide, which are used to treat abnormal electrical activity in the heart, called cardiac dysrhythmia, impede the movement of K+ through voltage-gated K+ channels. Which part of the action potential would you expect potassium channels to affect?

Answer the following questions regarding conduction of action potentials using the velocities given on p. 100: a. How long would it take for an action potential to travel 0.6 m along the axon of an unmyelinated neuron of the digestive tract? b. How long would it take for an action potential to travel the same distance along the axon of a large myelinated neuron innervating a skeletal muscle? c. Suppose there were two synapses in a 0.6 m nerve tract and the delay at each synapse is 1 msec. How long would it take an action potential and chemical signal to travel the 0.6 m now, for both the myelinated and unmyelinated neurons? d. What if there were five synapses?