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		2. Motorneurons send impulses to muscles in the periphery. 3. Interneuronsconnect neurons together to relay and integrate information. B. Methods to study neuron membrane function There are 2 techniques that have been used to study the role of the membrane in neuron function. The first is the use of 1. Microelectrodesto measure membrane potential p.966 As you already know, the membrane potentialof a cell is the difference in charge between the inside and the outside. Q. What is the net charge on the inside of a cell compared to the surroundings? - negative You know this because I've told you, but how can you measure it? If there is a difference in charge between two points, electrons will tend to flow between them; this is voltage. If you want to know the tendency of electrons to flow between two terminals of a battery, you connect them with a voltmeter in between. You can do this in miniature with a cell; you can place one microelectrodes close to the outside of a cell and poke the second into the cell and connect them both to an oscilloscope( a very sensitive voltmeter). In this way you can measure the membrane potential and watch changes caused by ion fluxes. This sounds tough, and it is, but it helps to use really big neurons, like the giant axon of the squid which is 1 mm across.
			2. Patch clamp to measure transport proteins		p.708
		Like most cells, neurons have many transporter proteins that move ions across the membrane by both active and passive transport. These can be studied by a technique known as patch clamping. A fine glass pipet is used to pull off a small piece of membrane and hold it by suction. The piece of membrane is bathed on both sides with a solution of