What is conduction that jumps from node to node called, and how many times faster is it than on a bare axon? · Lobeworks/17
Saltatory conduction, from the Latin saltare, to jump.
What is conduction that jumps from node to node called, and how many times faster is it than on a bare axon?
Saltatory conduction, from the Latin saltare, to jump. A bare axon regenerates the spike on every patch and runs at about 0.5 to 2 m/s; a large myelinated one reaches up to about 120 m/s, roughly a hundred times faster. Put another way, a myelinated axon a few micrometres wide conducts as fast as a bare axon hundreds of times thicker, which is what lets distant brain regions exchange signals within milliseconds.