The refractory period
A) prevents action potentials from spreading forward and backward.
B) refers to the time period during which a portion of the membrane that has just undergone an action potential cannot undergo another action potential in response to normal triggering events because the channels opened during the action potential have not been restored to their "closed but capable of opening" conformation.
C) places an upper limit on the frequency with which a neuron can conduct action potentials.
D) two of these answers.
E) all of these answers.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The refractory period includes both the absolute and relative refractory periods, which prevent backward propagation of action potentials, limit the frequency of action potentials, and occur because ion channels need time to reset.

The Refractory Period