Refractory Period
Definition
The refractory period is a period immediately following stimulation during which a nerve or muscle is unresponsive to further stimulation.
Analogy
Consider refractory period as your phone's battery recharging time. After you've used it all day and it dies, there's no way you can use it again until it has had some time to recharge. Similarly, after firing, neurons need some time before they can fire again.
Related terms
Action Potential: The change in electrical potential that occurs between the inside and outside of a nerve or muscle cell when it is stimulated, causing it to transmit an impulse.
Resting Potential: The state of a neuron when it is at rest and capable of generating an action potential.
Hyperpolarization: An increase in the membrane potential of a cell, relative to the normal resting potential.
"Refractory Period" appears in:
Practice Questions (3)
- How does the refractory period of a neuron relate to absolute zero in thermodynamics?
- What occurs during the refractory period of a neuron?
- What happens during the refractory period of neural firing?
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