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Image: Action Potential

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Description: As a nerve impulse travels down the axon, there is a change in polarity across the membrane. The Na+ and K+ gated ion channels open and close in response to a signal from another neuron. At the beginning of action potential, the Na+ gates open and Na+ moves into the axon. This is depolarization. Repolarization occurs when the K+ gates open and K+ moves outside the axon. This creates a change in polarity between the outside of the cell and the inside. The impulse continuously travels down the axon in one direction only, through the axon terminal and to other neurons.
Title: Action Potential
Credit: Own work
Author: Laurentaylorj
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License: CC BY-SA 3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
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