Lemons2lemonade Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Nerve impulse is roughly na+ in k+ out to create an action potential. I wonder what having a plethora of na+ does to electric impulses within the nervous system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jangle Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 It is possible increasing sodium concentration is effectively boosting the vagus nerve signals (by allowing more neurons to be stimulated) which in turn helps the dysautonomia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemons2lemonade Posted February 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Jangle, higher levels of sodium in the extra cellular fluid would change the electrochemical gradient across the cell membrane and could affect membrane potential. Perhaps the increase of flow through the sodium channels is changing the sensitivity of the vagus nerve via electrochemical force. Or actually having extra sodium in ecf would actually reduce the the electrical capacity of the cell and seems like it would definitely affect the voltage gated channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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