temporal summation

a neural mechanism in which an impulse is propagated by two successive postsynaptic potentials (PSPs), neither of which alone is of sufficient intensity to cause a response. The partial depolarization caused by the first PSP continues for a few milliseconds and is able, with the additive effect of the second PSP, to produce an above-threshold depolarization sufficient to elicit an action potential. Compare spatial summation.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

May 8th 2024

morula

n. an early stage of embryological development, extending from the first cleavage of the zygote until the blastula is formed by further divisions of daughter cells.