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Cell Membrane And Its Effect On Our Body

Satisfactory Essays

Part One
Neurons are throughout our entire body and are what allow our central nervous system and brain communicate with your whole body. Nerve impulses among motor neurons are what allow our bodies to move when we want to. A nerve impulse is an electrical signal that travels down the axon to transmit information to other neurons to allow movement. In order for a nerve impulse to be generated, a stimulus must be strong enough to cause an “all-or-nothing” response. If the signal is strong enough the reach the neuron’s threshold, then the neuron will “fire”, or send the impulse down the axon. Before this happens, the resting neuron must be polarized by having different charges on either side of the cell membrane. This is because the outside of the cell membrane is more positive due to the presence of sodium ions while the inside is more negative due to the presence of potassium ions. Normally the resting neuron has an electrochemical value of -70 mV. In order for the electrical balance to remain stable and for the cell the maintain homeostasis, the sodium/potassium moves sodium ions out of the cell and potassium ions into the cell using ATP. When the nerve impulse is generated the balance that was created by the cell membrane is reversed, causing sodium ions to go into the cell and potassium ions to leave the cell. The cell is now in a depolarized state due to a more positive charge inside the cell and a more negative charge outside the cell. This depolarization causes the

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