How Do Neurons Work?

How Do Neurons Work?
Neurons are often referred to as excitable cells. Excitable cells are able to
respond to a stimulus by changing the electrical properties of their plasma
membrane. Only muscle and nerve cells are excitable and the basis for
excitability lies in the electrolytes (ions) that are dissolved into our extra-
cellular and intracellular fluids. As mentioned before, the concentrations
of the different electrolytes are not the same across the plasma membrane. In general the concentrations of sodium (Na+), chloride
(Cl−), and calcium (Ca2+) are much greater in the extracellular fluid, while
the concentration of potassium (K+) is greater in the intracellular fluid.
This means that these electrolytes have the potential to move across
the plasma membrane, down their concentration gradient, when their
respective ion channels open up.
  When an excitable cell is stimulated, ion channels open in a specific and
timely fashion. This allows electrolytes to move either into or out of
the cell depending on the direction of their concentration gradient. The
movement of the charged electrolytes changes the electrical nature of the
plasma membrane at the site of the stimulus. Furthermore, when the cell
is stimulated at one point on its plasma membrane, the excitability or
impulse then moves along the plasma membrane like a ripple on a pond.
Thus the excitability spreads and is often called a nerve impulse.
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