Compound action potential

In neurophysiology, the Compound Action Potential (or CAP) are evoked potentials representing the summation of synchronized individual action potentials generated by a group of neurons or muscle fibers in response to a stimulus. The CAP waveform shares morphological properties with the extracellular recording of individual action potentials.

In most occurrences, the CAP refers to:

• the auditory compound action potential (CAP), generated by the auditory nerve, or
• the compound muscle action potential (CMAP).