Joan, a neuroscience graduate student, is asked by her laboratory mentor to study the communication of two neurons grown in a petri dish. She is asked to stimulate an action potential in the first neuron, which will send a depolarizing stimulus to the second, "receiving" neuron. However, her mentor would also like her to block the receiving neuron from generating an action potential. How can Joan accomplish this?

She must block the process of summation in the receiving neuron.

Explanation:

Receptor or sensory neurons are responsible for receiving sensory stimuli and conduct the nerve impulse to the central nervous system (CNS). That is, it is these neurons that react to stimuli from other neurons and provide an answer. In the body of these neurons, there is the nucleus and pericary, which gives metabolic support to every cell; enabling a process called summation, which is the process that allows receptor neurons to provide a response to the excitatory and inhibitory events of other neurons.

For this reason, we can conclude that if a researcher wishes to prevent the receptor neuron from generating an action potential (ie a response), the researcher must block the summation process in the receptor neuron.