summation
summation
1. (in neurophysiology) The combined effect of the changes in electric potential elicited in one or more postsynaptic membranes by the transmission of impulses at synapses that is sufficient to trigger an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. Summation occurs when one or a few postsynaptic potentials alone are insufficient to elicit a response in the postsynaptic neuron; it may consist of the effect of two or more potentials evoked simultaneously at different synapses on the same neuron (spatial summation) or in rapid succession at the same synapse (temporal summation).
2. See synergism.
1. (in neurophysiology) The combined effect of the changes in electric potential elicited in one or more postsynaptic membranes by the transmission of impulses at synapses that is sufficient to trigger an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. Summation occurs when one or a few postsynaptic potentials alone are insufficient to elicit a response in the postsynaptic neuron; it may consist of the effect of two or more potentials evoked simultaneously at different synapses on the same neuron (spatial summation) or in rapid succession at the same synapse (temporal summation).
2. See synergism.
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