nerve impulse
1
4.9
- noun
- /nɜrv ˈɪmpʌls/
- Specialized
:
impulso nervioso
- The connections between two neurons become better at conducting nerve impulses under some conditions.
- nerve impulse transmission
- nerve impulse conduction
- nerve impulses travel
Examples
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A simple answer is that the way our brain interprets the nerve impulses that our senses send to our brain may not entirely reflect reality.
Blog text (14) -
Sensory receptors convert stimuli into nerve impulses.
Academic text (2000) -
But what if we block the nerve impulse... by simply applying local pressure?
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You have just witnessed a voluntary nerve impulse.
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For more than one hundred years, brain researchers have focused their study on neurons, the cells that carry nerve impulses throughout the brain and body.
Academic text (2015) -
His brain initiated a nerve impulse, an electrochemical chain reaction that traveled from brain to spinal cord to nerve branch.
Fiction book (2002) -
Your nerve impulses get picked up by sensors that control six different sets of gears and motors inside the hand, so the movements are incredibly lifelike and precise.
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Routine maintenance on the arm was more than mechanical: every so often, he had to download the minutiae of sensor readings, nerve impulses, and prosthetic motions.
Fiction book (2002) -
The toxins work by activating sodium channels, which help conduct nerve impulses by controlling the flow of charged ions into or out of nerve cells, thereby creating electrical currents.
Academic text (1999) -
When the hair cells are excited by vibration, a nerve impulse is generated in the auditory nerve.
Synonyms
18
6.1
An electrical signal that travels along a nerve to send information
1
6.5
An electrical signal that travels along a nerve to send information
1
5.8
An electrical message that travels along a nerve to carry information
How Strong
- Specialized
1
5.2
- Specialized
1
4.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun-noun compound is compositional: it denotes an 'impulse' that occurs in or is carried by a 'nerve', so the overall meaning follows directly from the constituents. This pattern is cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'impulso nervioso'), so a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Nerve impulse comes from a simple picture: imagine a quick electrical 'push' running along a long wire — in the body the long wire is a nerve and the quick 'push' is an impulse. That's why nerve impulse means 'an electrical signal that travels along a nerve'.