tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13710336.post112922823579108330..comments2022-09-18T11:14:36.876-04:00Comments on Neurochannels: Chapter 3 (2): Pore it on!Eric Thomsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06847717704454032165noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13710336.post-1144028475648628712006-04-02T21:41:00.000-04:002006-04-02T21:41:00.000-04:00Yes, they are both important. What I think is even...Yes, they are both important. <BR/><BR/>What I think is even more important, though is to know that any sort of dichotomy drawn between chemical and electrical gradients is, in a sense, illusory. They function in a continuum, with one deriving from the other. The driving forces of the ions and the gradients of each are in a beautiful dance, as they grapple across the membrane.<BR/><BR/>Nice blog,Dan Drighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12106833469192726144noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13710336.post-1137096469634705532006-01-12T15:07:00.000-05:002006-01-12T15:07:00.000-05:00To say that "electricity" is not an important fact...To say that "electricity" is not an important factor in neural function would be incorrect.<BR/><BR/>Changes in currents and voltages (i.e., "electricity") are crucial for the functioning of neurons. The ion channels (note, they are not pumps, which are ATP-using transporters such as the Na-K pump: see <A HREF="http://neurochannels.blogspot.com/2005/08/chapter-1-introduction.html" REL="nofollow">Eric Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06847717704454032165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13710336.post-1137093201705809042006-01-12T14:13:00.000-05:002006-01-12T14:13:00.000-05:00I have a pretty informal question about ion channe...I have a pretty informal question about ion channels and the electro-chemical signal.<BR/><BR/>My friend characterized the electrical signal as essentially a by-product or artifact of the action of all the thousands of ion pumps firing in sequence along an axon. Essentially his point was that (disregarding myelination for the moment) the electrical signal is not really important at all, it's Chris Chathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03275787429920482219noreply@blogger.com