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Nerve impulses are signals carried along nerve fibers. These signals convey, to the spinal cord and brain, information about the body and about the outside world. They communicate among centers in the central nervous system and they command your muscles to move.

Nerve impulses are electrochemical events. Observed as an electrical event, a nerve impulse is called an action potential (AP) because it involves a change in electrical potential that moves along the nerve cell. It can be measured as an electrical potential difference between the inside and the outside of a nerve fiber. That option has not been generally available to the beginning student. Instead, the nerve impulse has ordinarily been observed as a voltage change along the outside of the sciatic nerve of the common grass frog, Rana pipiens.

Rana pipiens and its relatives have long been favorite subjects for introducing students to the physiology of nerve and muscle. For serious investigations, use of frogs will continue to be justified, but the consumption of this resource for routine teaching ought now to be reduced, for at least three convincing reasons:

  1. Computing power has become so effective and so generally available that some essential concepts of nerve electrophysiology can as well or better be conveyed by simulation and example rather than by use of live material.
  2. In the frenzy of trying to make the real specimen perform properly during a student exercise, important ideas are often omitted or are lost because of equipment failure or operator ineptitude.
  3. Frog populations worldwide appear to be diminishing at an alarming rate, and biologists, of all people, ought not abet this decline.
This instructional module shows, by illustrations and text, some of the essential features of nerve impulse propagation, a phenomenon that many students find especially difficult to visualize. The lesson is based on observations made during external recording from the sciatic nerve of Rana pipiens.

Topics 1-11 afford a review of some aspects of single-neurone transmembrane characteristics. With this background,the student is prepared to appreciate the whole-nerve behavior illustrated in topics 12-30. The latter are based on actual cathode-ray-oscilloscope records of the type obtained by students in a laboratory course.


this info was taken off http://www.bio.fsu.edu/easton/intro.html

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Which travels quicker through the body a nerve impulse or a hormons?

a nerve impulse


How is olfactory impulse carried to brain?

Olfactory impulses are carried to the brain by olfactory nerve fibers, which are specialized nerve cells located in the roof of the nasal cavity. These nerve fibers send signals to the olfactory bulb located in the brain, where the information is processed and interpreted as different smells.


A nerve impulse is carried across a synapse by?

neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers that transmit signals between neurons. When a nerve impulse reaches the end of a neuron, it triggers the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse. These neurotransmitters then bind to receptors on the neighboring neuron, initiating a new nerve impulse to continue the signal transmission.


The neurotransmitters of a neutron enable a nerve impulse to do what?

Neurotransmitters in a neuron allow a nerve impulse to be transmitted from one neuron to another by crossing the synapse and binding to receptors on the receiving neuron. This triggers an electrical or chemical signal to continue the nerve impulse along the neural pathway.


What happens to a muscle when an electrical impulse from a nerve stops?

When the electrical impulse from a nerve stops, the muscle relaxes and returns to its resting state. This is because the nerve impulse initiates the release of calcium ions in the muscle cells, leading to muscle contraction. When the nerve impulse stops, the calcium ions are reabsorbed, causing the muscle to relax.

Related Questions

What is quicker a nerve impulse or a hormone?

nerve impulse


Which travels quicker through the body a nerve impulse or a hormons?

a nerve impulse


How is olfactory impulse carried to brain?

Olfactory impulses are carried to the brain by olfactory nerve fibers, which are specialized nerve cells located in the roof of the nasal cavity. These nerve fibers send signals to the olfactory bulb located in the brain, where the information is processed and interpreted as different smells.


What is the form of message carried by a nerve cell called?

The form of message carried by a nerve cell is called an action potential. An action potential is a brief electrical signal that travels along the nerve cell's axon, allowing for communication between different parts of the nervous system.


How does a nerve impulse follow all or nothing principle?

How does a nerve impulse follow the all-or-nothing principle???


What pathway does a nerve impulse follow after initiated into a receptor?

nerve my a$$ nerve


Which of the following helps carry nerve impulses across the synapse?

neurotransmitter carries the nerve impulses from neuron to neuron across a synapse


Is an action potential necessary for a nerve impulse to occur?

Yes, an action potential is needed for a nerve impulse to occur.


Is a action potential necessary for a nerve impulse to occur?

Yes, an action potential is needed for a nerve impulse to occur.


A nerve impulse is carried across a synapse by?

neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers that transmit signals between neurons. When a nerve impulse reaches the end of a neuron, it triggers the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse. These neurotransmitters then bind to receptors on the neighboring neuron, initiating a new nerve impulse to continue the signal transmission.


What is a nerve impule transmitted by axons?

It is called a nerve impulse.


The neurotransmitters of a neutron enable a nerve impulse to do what?

Neurotransmitters in a neuron allow a nerve impulse to be transmitted from one neuron to another by crossing the synapse and binding to receptors on the receiving neuron. This triggers an electrical or chemical signal to continue the nerve impulse along the neural pathway.