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--- plant_neurobiology [2011-09-02 10:38] – lbilliet
+++ plant_neurobiology [2011-09-02 10:41] – lbilliet
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 ==Action potentials in plants==
-The action potentials are largely documented in the scientific literature and the most famous manifestation of it is the rapid reaction of 'sensitive' plants such as Mimosa pudica or the insect trap of Dionaea muscipula. Those signals actually consist in a wave of depolarization of the plasma membrane around the sieve tubes (Volkov, 2004).
+The action potentials are largely documented in the scientific literature and the most famous manifestation of it is the rapid reaction of 'sensitive' plants such as //Mimosa pudica// or the insect trap of //Dionaea muscipula//. Those signals actually consist in a wave of depolarization of the plasma membrane around the sieve tubes (Volkov, 2004).
 Just as in animal's neurons, this wave of depolarization is followed by a short period of non-excitability, called the refractory period. This mechanism prevent the action potential travelling back the way it just came.
 The sensory systems of plants also allow the summation of subthreshold stimuli, that finally induce an internal signal when the threshold is reached.