Gated Ion Channels

by Greg Crowther

Ion channels are membrane proteins through which ions (charged particles like Cl^-, K⁺, and Na⁺) can pass, thus changing the membrane potential (the difference in electrical charge between the inside and outside of the membrane). Most ion channels are gated, i.e., closed until opened by a specific stimulus. This song was originally written for Biology 351 at UW-Bothell.

CHORUS:
Ligand-gated! Voltage-gated!
They're on different coasts:
Pre-synapse or post-!
Ligand-gated! Voltage-gated!
These two channel types
Produce voltage spikes!

Cells are full of ions that will exit and will enter;
Ions pass through channels that will open in the center.
Some require a certain membrane voltage to serve as a trigger;
Some require binding of a ligand, like a neurotransmitter.

CHORUS

Ligand-gated!

• karaoke

• MP3 (by the Zelcro Family Singers)

• music video

• sheet music

Songs like this one can be used during class meetings and/or in homework assignments. Either way, the song will be most impactful if students DO something with it, as opposed to just listening.

An initial, simple follow-up activity could be to answer the study questions below. A more extensive interaction with the song might entail (A) learning to sing it, using an audio file and/or sheet music as a guide, and/or (B) illustrating it with pictures, bodily poses, and/or bodily movements. The latter activity could begin with students identifying the most important or most challenging content of the song, and deciding how to illustrate that particular content.

(1) "Spike" is sort of a slang term for an action potential. Which type of ion channel is most directly responsible for spikes? Does the other type of channel also contribute somehow to the generation of spikes?

(2) Which type of ion channel is mainly pre-synaptic, and which type is mainly post-synaptic?