NROB60H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Drawing Pin, Tetraodontidae, Saltatory Conduction
13 Sep 2016
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Signal that conveys information over distances in the nervous system: action potential. Cytosol in neuron at rest: is negatively charged. The action potential is a rapid reversal of this situation such that. The inside of the membrane becomes positively charged with respect to the outside. Also called a spike / nerve impulse / discharge. Action potentials generated by a cell are all similar in. Duration: they do not diminish as they are conducted down the axon. The frequency and pattern of action potentials constitute the code used by neurons to transfer information from one location to another. Chapter summary: discuss the mechanisms that are responsible for the action potential. And how it propagates down the axonal membrane. Questions: what does the action potential look like, how is it initiated, how rapidly can a neuron generate action potentials. Ups and downs of an action potential: during an action potential firing. The membrane potential becomes positive briefly and rapidly.
