Body Atlas

Neurons and Signals · Brain

How does a neuron signal a strong sensation?

The all-or-nothing electrical spike that travels down the axon.

The simple answer

When a neuron fires, it doesn't fire a little. It produces a spike of electrical activity that is essentially the same size every time — an all-or-nothing event, exactly like the muscle fibres you met in the Muscles module.

Go deeper

The spike travels down the axon by briefly letting charged particles rush across the membrane, then pumping them back. Because every spike is identical, a neuron can't signal 'strongly' by firing harder — it signals intensity by firing faster, and by how many neurons fire together.

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