What are nerve impulses like?

            A nerve impulse is like a very simple message: either ‘on’ or ‘off’. Because there are so many neurones which are connected to one another, this simple signal is enough to carry the most complicated messages throughout the whole of the body’s nervous system.

 

 

 

 

Are nerves insulated?

            A nerve impulse is an electrical signal and so it needs to be insulated if it not to leak away. Most nerve fibres are covered with a fatty layer of insulation to stop the signal from leaking away. In diseases such as multiple sclerosis, some of this insulation disappears and the nerves do not have his insulation. Although these smaller nerves can still pass a message, it travels much slower than in an insulated neurone.

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