Practice question · Multiple choice
Neurons cannot fire faster than roughly 500–1000 times a second, however intense the stimulus. What sets that ceiling?
Hints
- Ask what has to happen inside the membrane before a second spike is even possible.
- The limit is about one millisecond. What process in this lesson takes about that long?
Show the answer
D. The refractory period, since sodium channels need time to reset
Why
The channels set the tempo. Inactivation gates must reset before another spike can fire, so the ceiling is roughly one per millisecond no matter how hard you push, and since intensity is coded by rate, that ceiling is also why perceived intensity saturates rather than rising without limit.
Practise The Neuron and Action Potentials
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