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THEORIES BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

All-or-None Law for Nerves and

Muscles
By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Updated on November 17, 2022

Medically reviewed by Huma Sheikh, MD

KTSDESIGN / Science Photo Library / Getty Images

Table of Contents

How It Works?
 Action Potentials

Stimulus Strength

Examples

History

The all-or-none law is a principle that states that the strength of a

response of a nerve cell or muscle fiber is not dependent upon the
strength of the stimulus. If a stimulus is above a certain threshold, a nerve
or muscle fiber will fire. [1]

According to the all-or-none law, there will either be a full response or no

response at all for an individual neuron or muscle fiber.

How Does the All-or-None Law Work?

If a stimulus is strong enough, an action potential occurs and a neuron
sends information down an axon away from the cell body and toward the
synapse. Changes in cell polarization result in the signal being propagated
down the length of the axon.

The action potential is always a full response. There is no such thing

as a "strong" or "weak" action potential. Instead, it is an all-or-
nothing process. This minimizes the possibility that information will
be lost along the way.

This process is similar to the action of pressing the trigger of a gun. A very
slight pressure on the trigger will not be sufficient and the gun will not
fire. When adequate pressure is applied to the trigger, however, it will fire.

The speed and force of the bullet are not affected by how hard you pull the
trigger. The gun either fires or it does not. In this analogy, the stimulus
represents the force applied to the trigger while the firing of the gun
represents the action potential.

How the Signal Triggers an Action Potential

In its normal resting state, the inside of a neuron is around -70 millivolts.
When activated by the stimulus, the membrane depolarizes, causing ion
channels to open. As a result, sodium ions enter the action and change the
polarization of the axon.

Once the cell depolarizes to the required threshold, the action potential
will fire. As the all-or-nothing law states, this action is not graded—it
either happens, or it doesn't.

A stimulus might cause sodium to enter the cell, but too few ions might
enter the cell. This means that the cell won't reach the required threshold
and it will not fire. [2]

Determining Stimulus Strength

The body still needs to determine the strength or intensity of a stimulus.
It's important to know, for example, how hot a cup of coffee is as you take
an initial sip, or to determine how firmly someone is shaking your hand.

To gauge stimulus intensity, the nervous system relies on two sources of

information: [2]

The rate at which a neuron fires: A neuron firing at a faster rate indicates
a stronger intensity stimulus.
How many neurons fire at any given time: Numerous neurons firing
simultaneously or in rapid succession would also indicate a stronger
stimulus.

If you take a sip of your coffee and it is very hot, the sensory neurons in
your mouth will respond rapidly. A very firm handshake from a co-worker
might result in both rapid neural firing and a response from many sensory
neurons in your hand. In both cases, the rate and number of neurons
firing provide valuable information about the intensity of the original
stimulus.

According to the rate law, the more intense a stimulus is, the faster the
neuron will fire. In other words, a strong stimulus will cause the neuron
to fire much faster than a weak one.
The rate at which a neuron can fire is determined by its absolute
refractory period, which is the period of time after a cell fires, during
which it cannot generate another action potential regardless of the
stimulus's intensity. [3]

Recap
It is not the action potential that conveys the strength or intensity of a
signal, but rather the speed and number of neurons firing
simultaneously.

Examples of the All-or-None Response

Some examples of the all-or-none response can be seen in different
sensory and perceptual situations. For example:

Touching a hot pan

Smelling a delicious scent
Feeling the coldness of a glass of water
Detecting the sweetness piece of candy

In each case, sensory information is transmitted via the action potentials

that carry the signal to the brain. Once the threshold has been reached to
trigger an electrical impulse, the nerve fires and transmits the sensory
information. That is an example of the all-or-nothing law in action.

It is the speed and frequency that the nerve fires that provide information
to the brain about the intensity of the stimulus. So touching a hot pan, for
example, would result in the rapid firing of a nerve impulse that would
result in an immediate response.

Discovery of the All-or-None Law

The all-or-none law was first described in 1871 by physiologist Henry
Pickering Bowditch. In his descriptions of the contraction of the heart
muscle, he explained, "An induction shock produces a contraction or fails
to do so according to its strength; if it does so at all, it produces the
 greatest contraction that can be produced by any strength of stimulus in
the condition of the muscle at the time." [4]

While the all-or-none law was initially applied to the muscles of the
heart, it was later found that neurons and other muscles also respond
to stimuli according to this principle.

Summary
The all-or-nothing law is an important principle that describes how nerve
cells either fire at full strength or do not. Because of this, important
information does not lose strength as it is carried to the brain, ensuring
that people are able to respond to environmental stimuli.

4 Sources

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist,
psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology
Book."

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