A nerve impulse is an electrical signal that is transmitted along a nerve fiber from one nerve cell to another. It is one of the main ways of transmitting information in the nervous system.
The nervous impulse consists of several components. Firstly, it is an electrical charge that arises in a nerve cell when it is excited. This charge is called an action potential. The action potential propagates along the nerve fiber, causing a change in electrical potential on neighboring nerve cells.
In addition, the nerve impulse contains information about what happened in the nerve cell. This information is transmitted in the form of various chemicals such as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters bind to receptors on neighboring nerve cells, causing their electrical activity to change.
The speed of propagation of a nerve impulse depends on the type of nerve cell and the properties of the nerve fiber. For example, the speed of impulse propagation along a myelinated nerve fiber can reach 120 meters per second, while along an unmyelinated nerve it is only a few meters per second.
The nervous impulse plays an important role in regulating the functioning of the nervous system. It allows the nervous system to quickly respond to environmental changes and adapt to new conditions. In addition, it is involved in memory formation and learning.
Thus, the nervous impulse is an important component of the nervous system and plays a key role in its functioning. Knowledge about it allows us to better understand the mechanisms of the nervous system and develop new methods for treating nervous diseases.
Nerve impulse - I., spreading along the nerve fiber
Nerve impulses are a biophysical concept that means not just the transfer of information from one neuron to another, but its deterministic propagation along specialized processes of nervous tissue (axons and dendrites) from one excitatory neuron (effector neuron) to the axon of another excitatory interneuron.