- #1
shoestring
- 96
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Electricity affect neurons. For example, in 1791 Galvani made the legs of a dead frog twitch by exposing them to a spark, and more recently in history, electric currents through the brain has been used to deliberately induce "therapeutic" epileptic seizures. What I wonder about is the exact mechanism behind this effect. What is it about for example the electric current through the brain that causes the nerve cells to fire uncontrollably and thereby cause a seizure?
The current itself must be quite a slow drift of ions, because even in low resistance copper wires in a typical electric circuit, the drift velocity of the electrons is surprisingly small. The conductivity of the brain must be many orders of magnitude smaller than that of copper, so the current used in electroconvulsive treatment can't be anything but a really weak drift of ions through the brain, that nevertheless manages to cause a clonic seizure.
I looked around on the web but couldn't find anything about the exact mechanism of how currents affect neurons. Does anyone know?
(Btw, I know more about physics than about nerve cells. :) )
The current itself must be quite a slow drift of ions, because even in low resistance copper wires in a typical electric circuit, the drift velocity of the electrons is surprisingly small. The conductivity of the brain must be many orders of magnitude smaller than that of copper, so the current used in electroconvulsive treatment can't be anything but a really weak drift of ions through the brain, that nevertheless manages to cause a clonic seizure.
I looked around on the web but couldn't find anything about the exact mechanism of how currents affect neurons. Does anyone know?
(Btw, I know more about physics than about nerve cells. :) )