PhysioEx Lab Report

Exercise 3: Neurophysiology of Nerve Impulses

Activity 3: The Action Potential: Threshold
Name: Edvin Merida
Date: 12 April 2023
Session ID: session-e78e46e6-5ba8-a4ee-88ab-7b0b8d55d1d7

Pre-lab Quiz Results

You scored 100% by answering 4 out of 4 questions correctly.

1 Axons are

You correctly answered: long, thin structures that extend from a neuronal cell body.

2 Which of the following is easier?

You correctly answered: Extracellular recordings of the action potential.

3 An action potential is usually initiated in an axon at or near

You correctly answered: all of the above.

4 The initiation of an action potential in a sensory neuron in the body normally

You correctly answered: follows a sufficiently large depolarizing receptor potential.

Experiment Results
Predict Question
1 Predict Question: How will the action potential at R1 (or R2) change as you continue to
increase the stimulus voltage?

Your answer: The duration of the action potential will decrease.

Stop & Think Questions

1 Why is the action potential recorded by the second recording electrode (R2) delayed
relative to the action potential recorded by the first recording electrode (R1)?

You correctly answered: The action potential had to propagate from R1 to R2.

2 An increase in extracellular K+ would depolarize a neuron. This depolarization would

occur if neurons were damaged. From what you have just learned about generating an
action potential, what effect would this have on nearby axons? The nearby axonal
membranes will _______.

You correctly answered: be depolarized to values near or above threshold voltages.

Experiment Data
Stimulus Voltage Peak Value at R1 Peak Value at R2 Action Potential
(mv) (μV) (μV)
10 0 0 No
20 100 100 Yes
30 100 100 Yes
40 100 100 Yes
50 100 100 Yes
Post-lab Quiz Results
You scored 100% by answering 3 out of 3 questions correctly.

1 The threshold voltage in an axon is usually

 You correctly answered: less negative than the resting membrane potential.

2 If a graded receptor potential made the resting membrane potential of the axon more
negative (for example, -70 mV changes to -75 mV), you would expect

You correctly answered: it to be more difficult for this axon to reach the threshold
voltage.

3 Failure to reach the threshold voltage in the axon of a sensory neuron could be caused by

You correctly answered: all of the above.

Review Sheet Results

1 Define the term threshold as it applies to an action potential.

Your answer:

el término umbral se refiere al nivel mínimo de estímulo necesario para desencadenar

un potencial de acción en una neurona.

2 What change in membrane potential (depolarization or hyperpolarization) triggers an

action potential?

Your answer:

Se necesita una despolarización de la membrana celular por encima de un umbral crítico.

3 How did the action potential at R1 (or R2) change as you increased the stimulus voltage
above the threshold voltage? How well did the results compare with your prediction?

Your answer:

una vez que se alcanza el umbral de despolarización, el potencial de acción no cambia en

amplitud o duración, independientemente de la magnitud del estímulo.

4 An action potential is an "all-or-nothing" event. Explain what is meant by this phrase

Your answer:

Se refiere al hecho de que un potencial de acción neuronal se produce de forma

completa y con una amplitud y duración fijas una vez que se alcanza el umbral de
despolarización en la membrana celular.

5 What part of a neuron was investigated in this activity?

Your answer:

El axón, el cual transmite el potencial de acción.