Nerve impulse vs action potential

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virtualmaster999

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Hi all!

Kinda confused on this. Is there a difference between the two? I remember that size/ speed in constant for an action potential, but in Destroyer, it says that nerve impulses have increased speed with less resistance. Is an action potential different from a nerve impulse?

Thanks in advance!

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There is a difference between action potential and nerve impulse. Action potential is the electric polarization of the membrane of the nerve. Nerve impulse is the movement of action potential along the nerve fiber.

Hope that helps!
 
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There is a difference between action potential and nerve impulse. Action potential is the electric polarization of the membrane of the nerve. Nerve impulse is the movement of action potential along the nerve fiber.

Hope that helps!
So when I learned that the size/speed of an action potential does not change when the intensity increases, only the frequency, is this why changing the radius of the nerve increases the speed? Does speed/ size change for a nerve impulse, but not an action potential?
 
Or is it this: increasing the stimulus of an action potential only increases the frequency, while size and speed are constant.

If you change the radius of the nerve fiber, or myelinate the axon, then the speed increases. Is this right?
 
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