The passage of electrical current into a cell will cause it to do what?

When electrical current enters a cell, it triggers a process known as depolarization. In this context, depolarization refers to the change in the electrical charge across the cell membrane. Under resting conditions, a cell has a polarized state, meaning there is a difference in charge between the inside and outside of the cell, usually with a negative charge inside due to the higher concentration of potassium ions compared to the outside environment.

When electrical current is introduced, it causes sodium channels in the cell membrane to open, allowing sodium ions (which carry a positive charge) to flow into the cell. This influx of positive charge reduces the overall negative charge within the cell, leading to a less negative (or more positive) membrane potential. This is the depolarization effect, which is crucial in the initiation and propagation of an action potential in neurons and muscle cells.

Understanding this process is important in the fields of biomedical engineering and medical technology, as it forms the basis of how many medical devices, such as pacemakers and defibrillators, interact with heart cells to restore normal electrical function.