overshoot
1. Generally, any initial change, in response to a sudden step change in some factor, that is greater than the steady-state response to the new level of that factor; common in systems in which inertia or a time lag in negative feedback outweighs any damping that may be present. Changes in a negative direction are sometimes distinguished by the term undershoot, and the two may alternate in an oscillatory fashion, as in the transient oscillations of a pendulum when released from an initial displacement.
2. Momentary reversal of the membrane potential of a cell (inside becoming positive rather than negative relative to the outside) during an action potential; considered a form of overshoot because, before discovery of overshoot, excitation was thought merely to depolarise the membrane to zero transmembrane potential.
Dictionary > Overshoots
You will also like...
Water in Plants
The movement of molecules (specifically, water and solutes) is vital to the understanding of plant processes. This tuto..
Evolution of Life – Ancient Earth
Autotrophs flourished, absorbing carbon and light. Soon after, primitive life forms that could assimilate oxygen thrived..
New Zealand’s Unique Flora
If New Zealand has lots of unique animals, it's also got a whole lot of unique plants. Find out more about some of them,..
The Central Nervous System
Myelin sheath is essential for a faster conductivity of signals. Know more about this feature of some neurons in the Cen..
Genetic Control – On and Off Genes
Genes are the blueprint of our bodies, a blueprint that creates a variety of proteins essential to any organism's surviv..
Freshwater Communities & Plankton
Planktons are microscopic organisms that live suspended in aquatic habitats. There are two groups: the phytoplanktons an..