What term describes a process by which subthreshold stimulus add together to evoke a response?

What term describes a process by which subthreshold stimulus add together to evoke a response?

• A. Stimulus
• B. Threshold
• C. Sub-threshold
• D. Summation

Answer: (D)

Subthreshold signals can be integrated by a neuron through summation. Each individual input may be too weak to reach the firing threshold on its own, but when several subthreshold signals arrive in close succession (temporal summation) or from different inputs simultaneously (spatial summation), their depolarizing effects add together. If the combined depolarization crosses the threshold, an action potential is fired. The other terms describe the input or the threshold level, but the process that combines these small inputs into a single response is summation.

Subthreshold signals can be integrated by a neuron through summation. Each individual input may be too weak to reach the firing threshold on its own, but when several subthreshold signals arrive in close succession (temporal summation) or from different inputs simultaneously (spatial summation), their depolarizing effects add together. If the combined depolarization crosses the threshold, an action potential is fired. The other terms describe the input or the threshold level, but the process that combines these small inputs into a single response is summation.