action potential

noun

: a momentary reversal in electrical potential across a plasma membrane (as of a neuron or muscle fiber) that occurs when a cell has been activated by a stimulus

Examples of action potential in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It was previously thought that encoding a place cell would take multiple action potentials, via Hebbian learning, which would require the animal to explore the same spot multiple times. — Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 24 Apr. 2026

These signals come in forms such as action potentials (resembling animal nerve cells, though slower) and variation potentials (often linked with stress responses). — Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 19 Nov. 2025

If external stimuli are strong enough, charge builds up in a neuron, triggering an action potential, a spike of voltage that travels down the neuron’s body to enable all types of bodily functions, including emotion and movement. — Perri Thaler, IEEE Spectrum, 13 Oct. 2025

An imbalance can cause brain cells to malfunction, losing their ability to manage ion concentrations across their membranes and propagate action potentials. — Dan Samorodnitsky, Wired News, 28 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1913, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for action potential

• equipotential
• experiential
• geopotential
• jurisprudential
• nonresidential
• overpotential
• confidential
• differential
• evidential
• inessential
• inferential
• pestilential

Medical Definition

action potential

noun

: a momentary reversal in the potential difference across a plasma membrane (as of a nerve cell or muscle fiber) that occurs when a cell has been activated by a stimulus

called also spike potential

compare resting potential see afterpotential, generator potential, prepotential