Question

What causes the sodium channels to open successively?

7) What happens when sodium moves into the neuron?

8) How does the neuron repolarize after depolarization?

9) How do neurotransmitters play a role in creating an action potential?

10) What is the difference between an inhibitory and an excitatory neurotransmitter?

11) Write a summary of what happens for an action potential to fire. This is worth 50 points. Hint: Start with the explanation of a neurotransmitter.

Answer 1

When Sodium moves into the neuron it causes a charge change in the neuron, making it very positive. It repolarizes by pumping sodium back out of the neuron, re-establishing the potential. Neurotransmitters transmit an impulse from one neuron to another chemically. Inhibitory neurotransmitters stop impulses, excitatory neurotransmitters create and encourage impulses. For an action potential to fire the threshold of the input source must be reached.