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

action potential

/ ăk′shən /

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 .

Word History and Origins

Origin of action potential¹

First recorded in 1925–30

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.

From Quanta Magazine