refractory period

American  

noun

Physiology.

1. a short period after a nerve or muscle cell fires during which the cell cannot respond to additional stimulation.

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refractory period British  

noun

1. a period during which a nerve or muscle is incapable of responding to stimulation, esp immediately following a previous stimulation. In an absolute refractory period there is a total inability to respond; in an effective or relative refractory period there is a response to very large stimuli

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refractory period Scientific  

1. The period immediately following the transmission of an impulse in nerve or muscle, in which a neuron or muscle cell regains its ability to transmit another impulse.

2. See more at action potential

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Etymology

Origin of refractory period

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

This begins the neuron's refractory period, in which it cannot produce another action potential because its sodium channels will not open.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The refractory period allows the voltage-sensitive ion channels to return to their resting configurations.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The period immediately following the transmission of an impulse in a nerve or muscle, in which a neuron or muscle cell regains its ability to transmit another impulse, is called the refractory period.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

With a crew of dedicated sailors helping him reload, Greyjoy’s scorpion has a refractory period of less than a minute.

From Slate • May 7, 2019

Because voltage-gated Na+ channels are inactivated at the peak of the depolarization, they cannot be opened again for a brief time—the absolute refractory period.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013