Is an action potential transmitted faster between cells connected by anelectrical synapse or by a chemical synapse? Explain.
Is an action potential transmitted faster between cells connected by an
electrical synapse or by a chemical synapse? Explain.
In neurophysiology, the term action potential is used to describe the electrical form of messages that are utilized by the components of the nervous system for transmitting signals to different parts of the body.
The transmission of action potential from one nerve cell to another occurs at particular junction sites called the synapse. These synapses are of two types; electrical and chemical. The transmission of action potential occurs faster between cells that are connected by an electrical synapse because, in this type of synapse, the cells are not physically separated from each other and consist of gap junctions which allow direct and fast transmission of impulse without any delay (which is required in the case of chemical synapse due to the presence of receptor molecules and decoding systems).
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