Fundamentally, the action potential is a change in a neuron's cellular membrane electrical potential that usually propagates in a wave-like manner down the axon of a neuron. You can think of this electrical potential as being something like a battery since it is used to do work in the nervous system.

The action potential provides a means by which information can be transmitted relatively quickly over long distances in the nervous system, and the mechanism by which it is produced is similar in all known neurons. In order for it to do the right kind of work, that is, to transmit its information, the potential has to be able to move. It accomplishes this by setting off a chain reaction that creates a wave of activity that moves down the axon.


One of the striking characteristics of the action potential is its all-or-none nature. That is, in most cases, you either don't get an action potential or you do, you never get half of an action potential, or a quarter of an action potential.

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