Compare graded and action potential
Like muscle fibres, neurons are electrically excitable. They communicate with one another using two types of electrical signals, namely; graded potential and action potential. The production of graded and action potentials depends on the basic features of the plasma membrane of excitable cells: the existence of a resting membrane potential and the presence of specific types of ion channels.
Like most other cells in the body, the plasma membrane of excitable cells exhibits a membrane potential, an electrical potential difference (voltage) across the membrane. In excitable cells, this voltage is termed the resting membrane potential.
Graded potentials and action potentials occur because the membranes of neurons contain many different kinds of ion channels that open or close in response to specific stimulus. Because the lipid bilayer of the plasma membrane is a good electrical insulator, the main paths for current to flow across the membrane are through the ion channels.
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