Nerve Impulse

From blinking your eyes to catching a ball, every action in your body begins with a signal, which is a nerve impulse.

These impulses are electrical signals that travel quickly through your neurons.

To help nerve impulses travel quickly, many axons are wrapped in a myelin sheath, a fatty layer that acts like insulation on an electric wire.

Along the axon, there are small gaps in the myelin called nodes of Ranvier. These gaps help the impulse jump quickly from one spot to the next, speeding up the signal even more.

When this nerve impulse reaches the end of an axon, it triggers the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters.

These chemicals then travel across a tiny gap between neurons called the synapse.

Once across, they bind to the membrane of the next neuron’s dendrite, passing the signal forward.

This keeps the message moving instantly, just like runners handing off a baton in a relay race, so your brain and body can work together.