Propagation of the action potential

Learning objectives

To understand the ionic phenomena at the origin of the action potential.
To understand the way a membrane’s voltage gated ion canals function
To clarify the notion of an electrochemical gradient
To clarify the notions of the kinetics of the opening, deactivation and closing of voltage gated ion channels
To understand why the propagation of an action potential is unidirectional.

This animation presents the ionic and molecular phenomena involved in the unidirectional propagation of an action potential along an amyelenic axon.

Use the controls at upper right to proceed through the presentation.