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Lyndsey C's picture

alpaca farm girl

After class I went back and looked at the action potential propogation simulation and i am still trying to figure out why there are a series of action potentials being carried out during movement instead of just one message being passed along the axon. Then I realized maybe each movement is enabled by a series of action potentials, one after the other, resulting in a fluid movement. (ok, i didnt exactly come to this epiphany, i got some guidance from a really smart friend who actually took this course last year). but now i am confused about why the action potentials are triggered in both directions of the axon in the action potential propogation excercise when you begin an electode in the middle of the axon. i was under the impression that messages are only carried in one direction on a nerve cell (down the axon). and then i got to thinking about reuptake processes, and how neurotransmitters are sometimes reupaken (word?) into the neuron for storage or reuse. is that what the excercise is trying to illustrate? if not, why are the action potentials going in both directions of the axon? and why would you begin an electrode in the middle of an axon in the first place? that sort of goes back to the idea of having output with no input because the typical starting point of the first action potential is usually at the top of the axon. right? i am really confused, and this might sound very trivial to people who have a more advanced background in neuroscience, but if anyone can make this a little clearer id really appreciate it! see ya'll thursday!
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