The conversation between human and AI assistant.
How do temporal and spatial summation compare?
That's interesting. Can you give me an example of temporal summation?
Sure. Suppose that a pre-synaptic neuron fires an action potential, which triggers the release of a small amount of neurotransmitter molecules into the synaptic cleft. This may not be enough to reach the threshold for a post-synaptic neuron to fire. However, if the pre-synaptic neuron fires two, three, or more action potentials in rapid succession, the amount of neurotransmitter released can accumulate and eventually reach the threshold for the post-synaptic neuron to fire.