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action potential

noun

, Physiology.
  1. the change in electrical potential that occurs between the inside and outside of a nerve or muscle fiber when it is stimulated, serving to transmit nerve signals.


action potential

noun

  1. a localized change in electrical potential, from about –70 mV to +30 mV and back again, that occurs across a nerve fibre during transmission of a nerve impulse
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


action potential

/ ăkshən /

  1. A momentary change in electrical potential on the surface of a neuron or muscle cell. Nerve impulses are action potentials. They either stimulate a change in polarity in another neuron or cause a muscle cell to contract.


action potential

  1. The rapid change in electric potential that parts of a nerve cell undergo when a nerve impulse is generated. Unlike ordinary electric current (see also current ), which consists of the flow of electrons , the action potential involves the movement of sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane .


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Word History and Origins

Origin of action potential1

First recorded in 1925–30
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Example Sentences

That may or may not result in a spike, or action potential, going out on the neuron’s axon to the dendrites of post-synaptic neurons.

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