Difference between revisions of "Action potential"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Tmtoulouse (talk | contribs) |
m |
||
| (3 intermediate revisions by one other user not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | An '''action potential''' is an electrical charge that | + | 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. Action potentials result from the movement of [[ion]]s across a [[cell membrane]], through voltage-gated ion channels. 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. |
==References== | ==References== | ||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
* Kandel, ER; Schwartz JH, Jessell TM (2000). Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8385-7701-6. | * Kandel, ER; Schwartz JH, Jessell TM (2000). Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8385-7701-6. | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
[[Category:Biology]] | [[Category:Biology]] | ||
[[Category:Neuroscience]] | [[Category:Neuroscience]] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:07, December 14, 2009
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. Action potentials result from the movement of ions across a cell membrane, through voltage-gated ion channels. 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.
References
- Martin, JH (2003). Neuroanatomy text and atlas 3rd ed., New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Kandel, ER; Schwartz JH, Jessell TM (2000). Principles of Neural Science, 4th ed., New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8385-7701-6.