Neurobiologists could plan an experiment to show that an action potential travels faster along a myelinated axon than along a nonmyelinated axon by conducting the following steps:
1.Obtain two sets of axons: one set that is myelinated and one set that is nonmyelinated. These could be obtained from an appropriate animal model, such as a rat or a mouse.
2.Measure the diameter of both sets of axons to ensure that they are similar, as the diameter of an axon can affect the speed of an action potential.
3.Stimulate the axons using an electrical stimulus of the same intensity and duration.
4.Measure the time it takes for the action potential to travel along both sets of axons using an appropriate technique, such as patch clamp recording or voltage sensitive dye imaging.
5.Compare the time it takes for the action potential to travel along the myelinated axons versus the nonmyelinated axons.
6.Show that the action potential travels faster along the myelinated axons than the nonmyelinated axons.
7.Conduct statistical analysis of the data to ensure that the results are significant.
8.The result will demonstrate that myelination does plays a role in increasing the speed of action potential.
Note: The experimental design would be more complicate and might include more steps, controls and experimental groups, this is just a basic idea on how to approach the experiment, also the actual experiment will be more specific to the research lab and the resources available.