Читать книгу Neurobiology For Dummies - Frank Amthor - Страница 92

Cells contain ions, which are molecules that carry an electric charge. Many neurons contain transporters that have the task of pumping ions into and out of the cell.

All this transportation of ions creates a permanent imbalance between the ions inside the neuron and outside it. Different concentrations of ions exist on either side of the membrane.

You’ll get a charge out of what happens next: These ionic imbalances turn neurons into batteries, capable of producing electrical currents that flow through discrete pathways for conduction through the membrane; the biophysical term for conduction is permeability. The conduction path is made up of ion channels, which have gates that open to allow ions like sodium, potassium, or chloride to move through the membrane.