The Action Potential
- Created by: joe sharpe
- Created on: 23-04-11 16:39
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In their resting state, all nerve cells maintain a potential difference of -70 mV across their membranes. This is the resting potential of the cell
But what happens during a nerve impulse?
A nerve impulse is simply a wave of depolarisation along the membrane of the axon in a nerve cell. Energy from a stimulus hits a receptor. This energy causes part of the receptor membrane to depolarise. A description of this process is described below:
1. At resting potential, the potassium gates are open, allowing potassium out of the cell. However, the sodium gates are closed, and sodium ions cannot flow down their chemical gradient
2. The energy from a stimulus somehow causes the sodium gates to open. In the Pacinian Corpuscle…
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