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JBug JBug
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12 years ago
How do you calculate the frequency of action potential? I understand the formula is F=1/ISI. I don't understand how to do it, however. The specific question I am having a hard with is:

"In this lab simulation, when the stimulus voltage was 30 mV, the ISI was 62msec.  This codes for an action potential frequency of _______ Hz."

So, F=1/62. When I divide 1 by 62, I get 0.0161. But what is the Hz?
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12 years ago
How do you calculate the frequency of action potential?

Should be # of cycles / time (s)

A sample calculation is shown below with the assumption that the absolute refractory period is 1 ms in duration.



A cycle here refers to the duration of the absolute refractory period. If the neuron absolute refractory period is 2 ms, the maximum frequency would be 500 Hz as shown below:



The above calculations correspond to the maximum frequency of action potentials, and would only be present if the applied stimulus is very large in order to overcome the relative refractory period. Thus, the maximum frequency of action potentials is ultimately limited by the duration of the absolute refractory period.
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