A nerve impulse is an electric current which is produced by cells within the nervous system to transmit information.
Most nerve impulses start in receptor cells in the sense organs - when we see, or touch, or hear, or taste or smell something - then travel from nerve cell to nerve cell into the central nervous system, until they reach the part of the brain which processes the information and generates a nerve impulse which travels to the effectors where it causes a response.
The electric current is generated by the movement of ions across the cell membrane, which produces a potential difference.
Anne Evans
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