Neural communication is any type of signaling between neurons throughout the nervous system. Neurons are small cells that reside throughout the human body. They communicate through action potentials, which are electrical impulses that are short-lasting and send signals from one neuron to another. Neural communication is vital for the central and peripheral nervous systems to be at optimal health.
Without healthy neural communication, humans would not be able to function properly. Neurons reside in the central and peripheral nervous system, and they are responsible for allowing humans to eat, move, think, sleep and more.
Action potentials occur all of the time throughout the human body. They carry information from neuron to neuron in order to facilitate normal human functions. Action potentials are triggered in response to any type of stimuli that causes the neural cell membrane to depolarize.
At its resting state, neuronal cells have an electrical resting potential of -70 millivolts. Depolarization occurs when the cell's membrane potential rises to +30 millivolts. This occurs due to sodium ions rapidly entering the cell. Once the cell has depolarized, the sodium channels in the neuronal cell close and potassium channels open. Potassium rushes into the cell, repolarizing the cell membrane so the cell can return to its resting membrane potential. The potassium causes the cell membrane to become too negative, and sodium and potassium channels reopen to normalize the cell's resting membrane potential back to -70 millivolts.