Understanding how potentials are generated in a cell, as was said in class, will allow us to understand how the brain differentiates between fear and happiness or lightning from thunder. It is quite amazing that the brain is composed of neurons that can differentiate into diffrent jobs and learn how to differentiate between different inputs. >From understanding potentials, perhaps we can learn whether an imbalance the gradient or concentration can lead to erratic behavior or diseases. And with this knowledge, we can also ask how much of our behavior are we responsible for. If action potentials can be generated by itself, is there something beyond the "box" or something within the "box" that is controlling these action potentials. Other implications of learning about action potentials may be understanding how the environment may influence the concentration gradient or the nature of the action potential itself. Can we manipulate the membrance concentration, permeability of the membrane or the current flow to alter behavior?It seems that since that potentials is the language of the brain, it is crucial to decipher it and understand the meaning of it.

That's a LOT to ask for, but understanding potentials will (I hope) at least give us a beginning. They won't, though, show us how brain distinguishes lightning from thunder. Instead, they will help us to sharpen that question by showing us what does NOT distinguish the two (the potentials are the same), and hence force us to look in a new direction (how potentials are interpreted in larger groups of neurons). That same point will apply for some of the other things you mention. PG