As an action potential occurs in one area of the axon, an electrical current to neighboring areas of the membrane initiates ______.Multiple choice question.a graded potentialhyperpolarization of the membraneanother action potential
Question
As an action potential occurs in one area of the axon, an electrical current to neighboring areas of the membrane initiates ______.Multiple choice question.a graded potentialhyperpolarization of the membraneanother action potential
Solution
The correct answer is "another action potential".
Here's why: An action potential is a self-propagating wave of electrical activity that travels along the axon of a neuron. When an action potential occurs in one area of the axon, it generates an electrical current that spreads to neighboring areas of the membrane. This current depolarizes the adjacent areas, causing the voltage-gated sodium channels in these areas to open. This influx of sodium ions triggers another action potential in these areas, thus propagating the signal down the axon. This is why action potentials are said to be "all-or-nothing" events - they either occur fully or not at all, and once started, they propagate without decreasing in size.
Similar Questions
Each action potential Blank______.Multiple choice question.begins in the synaptic terminal and spreads up the axon to the axon hillockspreads across the entire surface of the membrane so that the entire cell is depolarized at one timeaffects only a small area of the plasma membrane of the cell at a timebuilds upon the previous action potential to create a larger potential change
The type of action potential conduction in an unmyelinated axon is Blank______ conduction.Multiple choice question.localcontinuoussaltatorydepolarization
As an action potential occurs in one area of the axon, it causes nearby ______ channels to open, initiating another action potential in the neighboring membrane.Multiple choice question.leakvoltage-gatednon-gated
During an action potential the inside of the cell membrane becomes Blank______ charged.Multiple choice question.negativelypositively
When traveling along an axon, the cell membrane immediately ahead of an action potential depolarizes because of _________blank.Multiple Choicethe sodium/potassium pumpmembrane receptorsdiffusion of sodium currentdecreased membrane permeabilitypotassium efflux
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