In the nervous system there are several strategies to improve the conduction of nerve impulses along the axon: increase its radius, coat it with myelin or use the saltatory conduction of the nerve impulse.
The saltatory conduction of the nerve impulse appears in the axons covered with myelin: in them every 1-2 mm the covering or myelin sheath is interrupted; and these concrete zones are the nodes of Ranvier. They are parts of the axon completely exposed but full of ion channels that are activated when the nerve impulse arrives and they regenerate it. They are like a supply station regularly distributed along the axon to prevent it from disappearing throughout the entire route. And thanks to this strategy, the nerve impulse is efficiently transmitted in jumps from node to node, which allows it to reach speeds of 100 meters per second in humans.
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About Neuropills:
Created, directed and presented by Pablo Barrecheguren (@pjbarrecheguren), Neuropíldoras (2018) is a scientific dissemination project made by Big Van Ciencia in collaboration with Muy Interesante and carried out with the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology – Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (FECYT).
