Question

6. Explain the need for saltatory conduction and how myelination and axon diameter affect rate of conduction – you can do this as an illustration. Make sure in your answer you include: axon, axon hillock, axon terminal, original action potential, new action potential, Schwann cell, myelin, node of Ranvier, depolarization, refractory DO NOT DEFINE THESE TERMS INDIVIDUALLY

Answer 1

Ans 6 Saltatory conduction is the conduction through jumps because it increases the rate of flow of information .The saltatory conduction increases the conduction of original action potential along myleinated axon to axon hillock through nodes of ranveir.Myelinated axons increases the conduction rate.the ion channels are located at the nodes of ranveir.The axon terminal transfer the signal to a synapse.At the first stage depolarization occurs in which the cell have negative potential of -70 mV. Sodium ions rushes in to the cell and makes the cell membrane positive to + 30 mV called the repolarization.At the phase of refractory period even a strong stimulus can not generate a new action potential.

Axon diameter and Myleination both increase the rate of conduction.