The action potential is the communication process that happens within neurons as they communicate and send information from one neuron to the other. Neurons are the primary information structures that are used in the central nervous system. They accomplish their purpose by taking in information by inputting and sending it out to the next neuron by outputting it in the form of an electrical potential (Munoz, 2012, p. 2). The process of a neuron sending a signal is called an action potential, which happens by changing electrical potential that is brought about by the passage of an impulse along the cell membrane. Action potential takes place when stimulation is brought about by electrical potential through the gating kinetics of potassium and sodium, which lead to sensitivity and rapid depolarization. Action potential happens in five distinct phases namely the “rising phase, peak phase, falling phase, undershoot phase, and the refractory phase” (Munoz, 2012, p. 3). The conduction of an electric signal in action potential happens through ions, which in turn move along the axon of the cell. During this movement, depolarization happens thus leading to the generation of currents that reach a point of no return hence creating a threshold that generates a current that is big enough to move to the opposite end.
Reference
Munoz, F. (2012). Dynamics of Action Potential in the GABAergic Thalamine Reticular Nucleus in Vivo. PLoS One, 7(1), 1-13.