3 ms·
I'm not an expert but neurons aren't like wires, they send electrochemical signals. You can squeeze a copper wire all you want, short of breaking it, and elect
by gerbilly 11y ago
I'm not an expert but neurons aren't like wires, they send electrochemical signals.
You can squeeze a copper wire all you want, short of breaking it, and electrons will still flow.
But in neurons, it's actual ions that have to flow for the signal to travel along the axon (Ca and K)
Also, communication between neurons is via neurotransmitters, that diffuse in the synaptic gap between neurons, and most of these are relatively large molecules.
Restricted blood flow could contribute as well, since it would impair cellular respiration in the neurons as well.
Given this, if you squeeze a brain structure, it seems to make sense to me that signalling would be degraded.
Edit: A previous version of this comment stated that the ions used for signalling were Na and Ca, that was incorrect, the ions are Na and K.