<P> The role of the threshold potential has been implicated in a clinical context, namely in the functioning of the nervous system itself as well as in the cardiovascular system . </P> <P> A febrile seizure, or "fever fit", is a convulsion associated with a significant rise in body temperature, occurring most commonly in early childhood . Repeated episodes of childhood febrile seizures are associated with an increased risk of temporal lobe epilepsy in adulthood . </P> <P> With patch clamp recording, an analogous state was replicated in vitro in rat cortical neurons after induction of febrile body temperatures; a notable decrease in threshold potential was observed . The mechanism for this decrease possibly involves suppression of inhibition mediated by the GABA receptor with excessive heat exposure . </P> <P> Abnormalities in neuronal excitability have been noted in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and diabetes patients . While the mechanism ultimately responsible for the variance differs between the two conditions, tests through a response to ischemia indicate a similar resistance, ironically, to ischemia and resulting paresthesias . As ischemia occurs through inhibition of the sodium - potassium pump, abnormalities in the threshold potential are hence implicated . </P>

Minimum amount of stimulus required to depolarize an excitable membrane