In: Psychology
Why are action potentials so important? What role does a stimulus play?
An action potential happens when a neuron sends data down an axon, away from the cell body. Neuroscientists use different words for action potential, for example, a "spike" or a "drive". When an action potential goes down the axon, the extremity changes over the membrane and as soon as the sign arrives at the axon terminal, it invigorates different neurons. An action potential is a moment of charged inside the neuron. It helps to send communication throughout the neuron, which is one of the main reasons an action potential is propagated.
Neurons always remain in resting potential. It is the state when charges are balanced between inside and outside of the neurons. There are two main charged ions that propagate the chemical message to the receiving neuron that is, potassium and sodium. A Stimulus plays an important role as it is the first which causes the sodium channels to open. The recurrence of an action potential is straightforwardly identified with the strength of the stimulus. Therefore, the higher the strength of the stimulus, the higher the imbalance between the charged ions inside and outside of a neuron which translates into a stronger action potential.