HTHSCI 1H06 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Axon Hillock, Resting Potential, Saltatory Conduction
16 Apr 2019
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Document Summary
In excitable tissues like axons and muscle fibers a wave of positive potential moves away from the point where the stimulus is initiated. The area behind depolarized membrane is in its refractory period so reverse conduction will not occur. Stimulus strength is coded for by frequency of discharges (aps) not the amplitude since the all aps are the same. Allows the cell to recover to the resting state brought about by the use of large quantities energy to shift ions to re-establish the rmp. Myelin speeds up the process because only a short section of axon has to be depolarized then the wave of depolarization jumps to the next node (nodes of ranvier) Thick axons speed up this process up too because there is less resistance to current flow with a large membrane. This increase in voltage triggers the next area of exposed membrane to become positive. The action potential thus leaps from one node of.
