from Section 4 - Neurophysiology
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 July 2019
An action potential is a transient reversal of the membrane potential that occurs in excitable cells, including neurons, muscle cells and some endocrine cells. The action potential is an ‘all-or-nothing’ event: if the triggering stimulus is smaller than a threshold value, the action potential does not occur. But once triggered, the action potential has a well-defined amplitude and duration. Action potential propagation allows rapid signalling within excitable cells over relatively long distances.
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