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The action potential travels from one location in the cell to another, but ion flow across the membrane occurs only at the nodes of Ranvier. As a result, the action potential signal jumps along the axon, from node to node, rather than propagating smoothly, as they do in axons that lack a myelin sheath.
Myelinated axons only allow action potentials to occur at the unmyelinated nodes of Ranvier that occur between the myelinated internodes. It is by this restriction that saltatory conduction propagates an action potential along the axon of a neuron at rates significantly higher than would be possible in unmyelinated axons (150 m/s compared from 0.5 to 10 m/s). [1]
Nodes of Ranvier (also known as myelin sheath gaps) are short unmyelinated segments of a myelinated axon, which are found periodically interspersed between segments of the myelin sheath. Therefore, at the point of the node of Ranvier, the axon is reduced in diameter. [19] These nodes are areas where action potentials can be generated.
Myelin, a derivative of cholesterol, acts as an insulating sheath and ensures that the signal cannot escape through the ion or leak channels. There are, nevertheless, gaps in the insulation (nodes of Ranvier), which boost the signal strength. As the action potential reaches a node of Ranvier, it depolarises the cell membrane.
Myelin is a multilamellar membrane that enwraps the axon in segments separated by intervals known as nodes of Ranvier. It is produced by specialized cells: Schwann cells exclusively in the peripheral nervous system , and oligodendrocytes exclusively in the central nervous system .
However, unlike oligodendrocytes, each myelinating Schwann cell provides insulation to only one axon (see image). This arrangement permits saltatory conduction of action potentials with repropagation at the nodes of Ranvier. In this way, myelination greatly increases speed of conduction and saves energy. [5]
At the nodes of Ranvier, which are approximately one thousandth of a mm (one micrometre (μm) in length, the axon's membrane is bare of myelin. Myelin's best known function is to increase the rate at which information, encoded as electrical charges, passes along the axon's length. Myelin achieves this by eliciting saltatory conduction. [1 ...
The myelin sheath is not continuous but is segmented along the axon's length at gaps known as the nodes of Ranvier. In the peripheral nervous system the myelination of axons is carried out by Schwann cells. [1] Oligodendrocytes are found exclusively in the CNS, which comprises the brain and spinal cord.