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Margaux Kearney's picture

Battery cont'd

After Thursday's class, I can definitely relate more to the battery analogy. I understand that the change in permeability is due to the change in protein (change in shape). If the membrane has a less negative field, sodium permeability occurs and depolarizes the membrane and so forth. I can also see how an action potential can be generated in the middle of an axon and how passive current flow goes in both directions. The only thing that prevents me from fulling "embracing" the battery analogy is the fact that I see a battery as an object that needs to be constantly changed. For example, if your flashlight doesn't work, you change the batteries.  What happens to the batteries that are in our body? Are they recharged after every action potential or are these special batteries that never run out of charge? If these batteries need to be "recharged", what is responsible?

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