
Why do action potentials increase as they move away from stimulus?
They increase amplitude as they move away from the stimulus point. The all-or-none phenomenon as applied to nerve conduction states that the whole nerve cell must be stimulated for conduction to take place. Strong stimuli cause the amplitude of action potentials generated to increase.
What happens to action potential amplitude during the relative refractory period?
If a neuron is stimulated into having an action potential during it's relative refractory period, the amplitude of the actions potential will be the same as as action potential produced when it wasn't in its refractory period.
What happens to the K+ channels during the action potential?
At the peak of the action potential, when the Na+ channels close, the K+ channels open and this increases K+ conductance (K+ ions leave the cell); this causes the repolarization. However, these K+ channels are open throughout the refractory phases until the end of the relative refractory period.
How does summation fire action potentials rapidly?
So you're not firing action potentials rapidly, rather you're using summation to initiate (or inhibit) an action potential. In your example of temporal summation, the frequency of incoming potentials (not action potentials) is high enough that the inward currents sum up to the threshold to produce an action potential.

Does action potential amplitude change with stimulus strength?
With decreasing strength of stimulation, the peak action potential amplitude becomes smaller and the rate of rise becomes slower.
How does amplitude of action potential change?
Action potentials do not vary in amplitude or intensity. They are ”all or nothing” events. If the intensity of a stimulus falls below the neuron's excitation threshold, nothing happens. But if the intensity of this stimulus exceeds this threshold, it does not matter whether it does so by a small or a large amount.
Does the amplitude of the action potential increase as you increase the stimulus intensity Why or why not?
As stimulus intensity is increased, the action potential amplitude remains the same (all-or-none events) , but frequency at which the neuron responds to the stimulus increases.
What determines the amplitude of an action potential?
The time and amplitude trajectory of the action potential are determined by the biophysical properties of the voltage-gated ion channels that produce it.
How do action potentials change in response to stimulus intensity?
When the intensity of the stimulus is increased, the size of the action potential does not become larger. Rather, the frequency or the number of action potentials increases.
Does action potential amplitude change with distance?
Unlike input potentials which spread passively and decrease in amplitude with distance, the action potential does not decay as it travels along the axon to the terminal of the neuron (this distance can be up to 1m).
Why does frequency of action potentials increase when the stimulus intensity increases?
Your answer: The frequency of action potentials increases because the increasing stimulus intensity can trigger more action potentials within the relative refractory period.
What is the stimulus for action potential?
Action potentials are caused when different ions cross the neuron membrane. A stimulus first causes sodium channels to open. Because there are many more sodium ions on the outside, and the inside of the neuron is negative relative to the outside, sodium ions rush into the neuron.
What type of stimulus is required for an action potential to be generated?
threshold stimulusThe minimum stimulus needed to achieve an action potential is called the threshold stimulus. The threshold stimulus causes the membrane potential to become less negative (because a stimulus, no matter how small, causes a few sodium channels to open and allows some positively-charged sodium ions to diffuse in).
What does decreased amplitude mean?
Reduction of amplitude of recorded responses generally indicates a loss of axons.
Can action potentials have different amplitudes?
The action potential is a sudden and transient depolarization of the membrane. The cells that initiate action potentials are called 'excitable cells'. Action potentials can have different shapes; i.e. different amplitudes and durations.
What affects duration of action potential?
Typical MUAP duration is between 5 and 15 ms. Duration is defined as the time from the initial deflection from baseline to the final return of the MUAP to baseline. It depends primarily on the number of muscle fibers within the motor unit and the dispersion of their depolarizations over time.
What is the peak amplitude of an action potential?
The peak amplitude of the action potential is 75 mV and the total duration 400 ms. All these action potentials are recorded in response to an intracellular depolarizing pulse or to the stimulation of afferents.
What can affect the rate of action potential propagation?
1. Myelin sheath - This covers some of the nodes and acts as an electrical insulator where the action potential travels from one node of ranvier to the next by saltatory conduction. 2. Diameter of the axon - the larger the diameter of an axon increases the rate and speed of conductance as there is less leakage of ions.
What happens when a threshold stimulus is used?
A threshold stimulus will cause the opening of voltage gated sodium ion channels that will cause further depolarizing stimulus. This stimulus will open still more voltage gated sodium ion channels. The depolarization phase of an action potential is punctuated by the closing of inactivation gates in the voltage gated sodium ion channels.
What is a post-synaptic potential?
True. A postsynaptic potential is a graded potential that is the result of a neurotransmitter released into the synapse between two neurons.
