action potential


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Related to action potential: membrane potential, Cardiac action potential

action potential

n.
A momentary change in electrical potential on the surface of a cell, especially of a nerve or muscle cell, that occurs when it is stimulated, resulting in the transmission of an electrical impulse.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

action potential

n
(Physiology) 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 and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ac′tion poten`tial


n.
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. Compare nerve impulse.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

action potential

- A brief electrical signal transmitted along a nerve or muscle fiber following stimulation.
See also related terms for nerve.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.action potential - the local voltage change across the cell wall as a nerve impulse is transmittedaction potential - the local voltage change across the cell wall as a nerve impulse is transmitted
nerve impulse, nervous impulse, neural impulse, impulse - the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber; "they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
Comparison of electrically evoked whole-nerve action potential and electrically evoked auditory brainstem response thresholds in Nucleus CI24R cochlear implant recipients.
A study on whether ERG channels contribute to the action potential of voices has not been found in the literature.
Axons can synapse at various neuron sites, which can have distinct effects on the generation of an action potential (Fig.
Though unexpected, this dynamic was also very familiar: it looked like an action potential.
[12] Both latency and conduction velocity depend on the intact, and myelinated nerve fiber as the myelin and node is essential for the fast action potential propagation.
Following the ideas of evolution equations (see for example [15,16], it is possible to derive also an evolution equation for the action potential [36]:
Changes in membrane potential that occur during the different phases of the SAN action potential are produced by changes in the movement of various ions ([Na.sup.+], [Ca.sup.2+], and [K.sup.+]) across the cell membrane and by the movement of [Ca.sup.2+] in or out of the SR [30].
Whole-cell voltage-and current-clamp recordings were performed at 24-28[degrees]C to measure currents and action potentials, respectively, using an Axopatch 200B amplifier (Axon Instruments, Union City, CA, USA).
Our data corroborate the literature about antinociceptive activity (20) since local anesthesia could be considered a mechanism to interrupt pain through the blockade of action potential (12).

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