Action potentials (those electrical impulses that send signals around your body) are nothing more than a temporary shift (from negative to positive) in the neuron’s membrane potential caused …

In neurons, the cell enters a state of hyperpolarization immediately following the generation of an action potential. While hyperpolarized, the neuron is in a refractory period that lasts roughly 2 …

Learn about synapses, the connections between neurons in the nervous system, and how they transmit signals efficiently on Khan Academy.

A single neuron can’t do very much by itself, and nervous system function depends on groups of neurons that work together. Individual neurons connect to other neurons to stimulate or inhibit …

Each vesicle packet released from the pre-synaptic neuron will contain a set amount of neurotransmitters, which will then bind to some of the receptors on the post-synaptic cell. If the …

When neurotransmitters bind to receptors, those receptors become activated. Activated receptors would open or close ion channels, which would affect the membrane potential of the …

The reason for this part of the action potential, which is called the falling phase, is because potassium starts to exit the neuron and it does so through a couple of types of channels. The …

How do neurons talk directly to muscle cells? Learn about how a neuronal message is translated into a muscular action at the neuromuscular junction. By Raja Narayan.

At the synapse, the firing of an action potential in one neuron—the presynaptic, or sending, neuron—causes the transmission of a signal to another neuron—the postsynaptic, or …

Action potentials travel down neuronal axons in an ion cascade. Positive ions (mostly sodium ions) flow into the cell body, which triggers transmembrane channels at the start of the axon to …