Membrane stabilizing effects involve the inhibition or total abolishing of

action potentials An action potential occurs when the membrane potential of a specific cell location rapidly rises and falls. This depolarization then causes adjacent locations to similarly depolarize. Action potentials occur in several types of animal cells ...

from being propagated across the membrane. This phenomenon is common in nerve tissues as they are the carrier of impulses from the periphery to the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all p ...

. Membrane stabilization is the method through which

local anesthetic A local anesthetic (LA) is a medication that causes absence of pain sensation. In the context of surgery, a local anesthetic creates an absence of pain in a specific location of the body without a loss of consciousness, as opposed to a general a ...

s work. They block the propagation of action potentials across nerve cells, thereby producing a nerve block. Some beta-blockers also possess what is referred to as membrane stabilizing activity (MSA). This effect is similar to the membrane stabilizing activity of

sodium channel blockers Sodium channel blockers are drugs which impair the conduction of sodium ions (Na+) through sodium channels. Extracellular The following naturally-produced substances block sodium channels by binding to and occluding the extracellular pore opening ...

that represent

Class I antiarrhythmic Antiarrhythmic agents, also known as cardiac dysrhythmia medications, are a group of pharmaceuticals that are used to suppress abnormally fast rhythms ( tachycardias), such as atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia and ventricular ta ...

s. MSA agents produced by beta-blockers reduce the increase of cardiac action potential, while also leading to other electrophysiological effects. However, MSA occurs only at very high concentrations and is not of clinical relevance, except after large doses of MSA compounds.

References

Electrophysiology {{biology-stub