| − | An '''action potential''' is an electrical charge that propagates along a cellular membrane. This electrical charge is used to communicate between different systems within an organism. [[Neurons]] are the primary cell type that generates action potentials though they can be generated by a range of cell types. | + | An '''action potential''' is an electrical charge that propagates along a cellular membrane. This electrical charge is used to communicate between different systems within an organism. [[Neurons]] are the primary cell type that generates action potentials though they can be generated by a range of cell types. The action potential was first described in frogs in 1862, by the Russian physiologist Friedrich Bidder. Later work used the squid giant axon, a particularly convenient physiological system established by Harry Grundfest in the 1940s at Columbia University. |