alleryStart learning →Myelin is an insulator. What does that insulation achieve for an axon?
AIt speeds sodium ions across gaps
BIt supplies energy to the impulse
CIt stops signals jumping to nerves
DIt raises the cell resting potential
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. It stops signals jumping to nerves
1. Nerve fibres run in bundles, so a signal on one could in principle disturb its neighbours.
2. Myelin is an insulator, so it blocks that leakage between adjacent nerves.
3. The unwanted leakage it blocks is called cross talk.
4. Unmyelinated axons do suffer cross talk, and that is simply part of how they normally work.
5. Myelin supplies no energy of its own, so option two mistakes insulation for a power source.
_Source: OpenStax College Physics (CC BY 4.0), Ch 20 "Electric Current, Resistance, and Ohm's Law", section Nerve Conduction_
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