Final answer:
The maintenance of the resting potential in neurons is critical for their ability to transmit nerve impulses. It's maintained by the sodium-potassium pump actively transporting ions against their gradients, using ATP, and by the selective permeability of the neuron's membrane, especially to potassium ions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Maintaining the resting potential of neurons is critical for their function. The resting membrane potential is approximately -70 millivolts, and this negative charge inside the neuron is crucial for the readiness of the neuron to transmit an impulse. The sodium-potassium pump plays a key role in maintaining this resting potential, using ATP to actively transport sodium ions (Na⁺) out of the cell and potassium ions (K⁺) into the cell, against their respective concentration gradients. This activity ensures that there is a higher concentration of sodium ions outside of the cell and a higher concentration of potassium ions inside, contributing to the negative charge inside the neuron. Additionally, the cell membrane's selective permeability to ions, especially its favoring of potassium ions over sodium ions due to more potassium leakage channels, helps maintain the resting potential. It is essential for neurons and other cells to sustain this potential in order to respond properly to stimuli and facilitate the transmission of nerve impulses.
The resting potential also involves the separation of other cations and anions, such as chloride ions (Cl-), which tend to accumulate outside because of the presence of negatively charged proteins within the cytoplasm. The delicate balance of these ions across the neuron's membrane is what allows for the neuron's responsiveness to actions such as signaling. The sodium-potassium pump's function of removing three sodium ions for every two potassium ions it brings in helps to maintain a negative internal environment.
Ultimately, the maintenance of the resting potential is crucial for nerve and muscle cell excitability, allowing for rapid physiological responses when cells are stimulated.