释义 |
action potential
action potentialn. 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.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 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. action potential - A brief electrical signal transmitted along a nerve or muscle fiber following stimulation.See also related terms for nerve.ThesaurusNoun | 1. | action potential - the local voltage change across the cell wall as a nerve impulse is transmittednerve 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" |
Action Potential
action potential[′ak·shən pə‚ten·chəl] (neuroscience) A transient change in electric potential at the surface of a nerve or muscle cell occurring at the moment of excitation. Potential, Action rapid fluctuation of membrane potential arising in response to excitation of nerve and muscle cells or fibers; an active electrical signal by means of which information is transmitted in man and animals. Action potential is based on rapidly reversible changes in the ionic permeability of the cell membrane that are caused by activation and inactivation of ionic membrane canals. In nerve fibers, the ascending phase of action potential is caused by activation of the rapid sodium canals, and the descending phase by inactivation of these canals and activation of the potassium canals. The same mechanism is reponsible for the generation of action potential in the fibers of vertebrate skeletal muscles. Activation of the rapid sodium canals in myocardial fibers ensures only the initial surge of action potential: the plateau of action potential characteristic of these fibers is caused by activation of the slow sodium and calcium canals. Rapid sodium canals are not found in the membranes of smooth muscle fibers in the internal organs and blood vessels of vertebrates or in the membranes of muscle fibers of such arthropods as crustaceans and insects and in the membranes of some mollusk neurons. Action potential in these cells is stimulated by activation of the slow sodium and calcium canals or of the slow calcium canals. The descending phase of action potential is maintained by the potassium canals. Study of the physicochemical properties of ionic canals is important both for interpreting their molecular structure and for developing methods of controlling the generation of action potential in various cells. The rapid sodium canals are specifically blocked by tetrodotoxin, derived from some species of puffer fish of the suborder Tetraodontoidea and from newts of the genus Taricha, as well as by Novocain, cocaine, and other local anesthetics. The slow sodium and calcium and slow calcium canals are not affected by these agents but are blocked by Mn2+, Co2+, Ni2+, and La3- ions and by such organic compounds as isoptin, used in cardiology, and its derivative D-600. Most of the potassium canals are effectively blocked by tetraethylammonium. The effect of action potential on such intracellular processes as the contraction of myofibrils in skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscles and neurosecretion in some specialized neurons and nerve endings is triggered by the direct action of an electrical impulse on the intracellular structures (Ca2+ is released from the sarcoplasmic network of the muscle) and by the effect on these structures of Ca2+ ions penetrating into the cell during action potential. B. I. KHODOROV action potential
action potential the electrical activity developed in an excitable cell when stimulated; it may be elicited by electrical, chemical, or mechanical stimulation, by temperature change, and so on. On an electrocardiogram, action potential is seen as the cardiac cycle of a single cell, produced by a rapid sequence of changes at the cell membrane, and consists of phase 0 to phase 4, with phases 0 to 3 representing electrical systole and phase 4 representing electrical diastole. The characteristics of action potentials vary in different parts of the heart; for example, the cells of the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes and the atrial cells do not have phases 1 or 2 and are shorter in duration than those of the His-Purkinje system and the ventricles.depressed fast response action potential an action potential produced when some but not all of the fast sodium channels are available to depolarize the fiber; on an electrocardiogram, it signifies the presence of slow conduction.fast response action potential the action potential produced by a cell when all of the fast sodium channels are available for depolarization; on an electrocardiogram, it signifies rapid upstroke velocity and maximal amplitude for phase 0, with consequent optimal conduction velocity.slow response action potential the action potential produced when only slow channels are available to depolarize the fiber; it is normal only in the sinoatrial and atrioventricular nodes and results in very slow conduction.ac·tion po·ten·tialthe change in membrane potential occurring in nerve, muscle, or other excitable tissue when excitation occurs.action potentialn. 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.Action Potential An all-or-none electrical event (neural impulse) in an axon or muscle fibre in which the polarity of the membrane potential is rapidly reversed and re-established. Action potentials begin at one end of the axon of a neurone and move along the axon to the other end. Action potential phases Phase 0 is the period of rapid depolarisation, the reversal of polarity from negative to slightly positive; the remaining 4 phases (1 through 4) are concerned with returning the cell to its resting membrane potential, where it remains until the next stimulus.action potential Cardiology The constellation of changes in electric potential generated by myocardial cell membranes after stimulation Physiology The sequential, electrochemical polarization and depolarization that traverses the membrane of a neuron in response to mechanical stimulation–eg, touch, pain, cold, etc. See Depolarization. ac·tion po·ten·ti·al (ak'shŭn pŏ-ten'shăl) The change in membrane potential occurring in nerve, muscle, or other excitable tissue when excitation occurs. action potential The electrical signal propagated in nerve and muscle cells. It consists of a zone of reversal of the normal charge on the membrane so that the outside briefly becomes negative relative to the inside, instead of vice versa. This zone of depolarization, which is caused by the opening of ion channels, then moves along the fibre at a rate very much slower than the speed of normal electrical conduction along a wire. Action potentials operate according to an ‘all-or-none’ law. They function fully or not at all.action potential the electrical potential present between the inside and outside of a nerve or muscle fibre when stimulated. In the resting state (RESTING POTENTIAL) the muscle or the nerve fibre is electrically negative inside and positive outside. With the passage of the impulse the charges are reversed and the wave of potential change which passes down the fibre is the most easily observable aspect of an impulse. The impulse (DEPOLARIZATION) is short-lived and lasts for about 1 millisecond, after which time the resting potential is restored. see NERVE IMPULSE.ac·tion po·ten·ti·al (ak'shŭn pŏ-ten'shăl) The change in membrane potential occurring in nerve, muscle, or other tissue excitation. EncyclopediaSeea/paction potential Related to action potential: membrane potential, Cardiac action potentialWords related to action potentialnoun the local voltage change across the cell wall as a nerve impulse is transmittedRelated Words- nerve impulse
- nervous impulse
- neural impulse
- impulse
|