Definition

1. Noun:
   • The electrical signal that travels along a nerve cell: A "nervous impulse" is the fundamental electrochemical signal by which neurons communicate. It is a rapid, temporary change in the electrical potential across a nerve cell's membrane that propagates along its fiber (axon).

Usage

• The term "nervous impulse" is used in biological, medical, and physiological contexts to describe the basic unit of neural communication.
• It is a technical term. In more general or simplified language, it may be referred to as a "nerve signal" or "nerve impulse."

Examples

• Noun:
  • The sensation of touch begins when a nervous impulse is generated in the skin's receptors.
  • Researchers measured the speed of the nervous impulse along the neuron.
  • Certain diseases can disrupt the proper transmission of nervous impulses.

Advanced Usage

• "Generation of a nervous impulse": Refers to the process where a stimulus causes a neuron to fire an electrical signal.
  • The generation of a nervous impulse requires a specific threshold of stimulation to be reached.
• "Conduction of nervous impulses": Describes the propagation of the signal along the nerve fiber.
  • Myelin sheaths increase the speed of conduction for nervous impulses.

Variants and Related Words

• Nerve impulse (n): A direct synonym for "nervous impulse."
• Action potential (n): A more specific technical term for the electrical event that constitutes a nervous impulse.
• Neural signal (n): A broader term that can refer to nervous impulses and other forms of neural communication.

Synonyms

• Nerve impulse
• Neural impulse
• Action potential (in specific contexts)

Related Phrases

• Transmission of impulses: The process of sending nervous impulses from one point to another in the nervous system.
  • The study focused on the transmission of impulses between neurons at the synapse.
• Electrical discharge along a nerve fiber: A descriptive phrase defining the nature of a nervous impulse.
  • An electroencephalogram (EEG) measures the collective effect of many such electrical discharges.

Noun

1. the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber
   • they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus