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shikha's picture

Comparing an action

Submitted by shikha on Mon, 02/23/2009 - 6:34pm.
Comparing an action potential to a battery was initially confusing for me. Of course I had studied both separately in my biology and chemistry classes, but I had never linked the two together. But it now makes sense to link the two.

Thinking of an action potential in this way can perhaps help explain how some input can have no output. If the cell membrane is not depolarized enough (ie it does not reach the threshold potential) an action potential will not be generated, it thus the input may not have an output. I know that this threshold potential can vary (within a certain range). Could this be the reason why some people react to certain inputs and others may not?

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