bio

Membrane potential

The voltage difference between the inside and outside of a cell, created by ion pumps and channels that distribute ions unevenly across the membrane. At rest it typically sits between −10 and −90 mV. We tend to think of membrane potential as a neuron's business — firing spikes — but every cell has one, and in non-neural cells this stable voltage pattern carries morphological information: it is the "ink" developmental bioelectricity writes shape with.