The Formation of Current from Neural Synapses in Electric Eels

Electric Eels

Electric eels generate their killer and large voltages by its highly specialized nervous system that has the capability to synchronise the activity of disc-shaped, electricity-producing cells packed into a specialized electric organ. It activates the electrical impulse when in danger by the nervous system through a command nucleus which decides when the electric organ will fire based on the given situation of the eel. When the command is given by the nervous system, the job of a complex array of nerves is to make sure that thousands of electric cells activate simultaneously, no matter what the difference of the distance is for each cell from the command nucleus.

The electrogenic cells or commonly known as electric cells carry a negative charge or electrical impulses with a little less than 100 millivolts on its outside compared to its inside.  When the command signal arrives, the nerve terminal a minute puff of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine which creates a transient movement with low electrical resistance connecting the inside and the outside of one side of the cell. This results in each cell behaving like a battery with activated side carrying a negative charge by the electrons and the other side with a positive charge.

Because of the cells which are oriented inside the electric organ like flashlight batteries piled next to each other, the current generated by an activated cell basically shocks any other creature that the eel wants to shock in approximately two milliseconds. Because the eel lives in water, which provides additional outlets and results in generating larger voltage. Eels can shock other creatures without shocking themselves. This is due to the severity of the shock which depends on the amount of time the current is flowing through the body. To cause an eel to spasm, 200 milliamps of current must be flowing through it for 50 milliseconds, though the eel produces less energy than that because the current only goes for 2 milliseconds. A large part of the current dissipates into the water through the skin and therefore reduces the current even more near internal structures which includes the central nervous system or the heart.

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