“In a neuron with a myelinated axon, the nerve impulse occurs only at the nodes of Ranvier. This is the only place along the axon with sodium channels to let sodium ions come through the cell membrane. Thus, in myelinated neurons, the nerve impulse sort of leapfrogs from one node to another; this hopping or jumping is called saltatory conduction from the Latin saltare, meaning to leap. As you see in our demonstration, saltatory conduction is much more rapid than conduction in unmyelinated neurons.