What determines how much electricity is in one's body/brain?

[PJ2001]

Hello,

Some people have a bioelectrical content that is greater/lesser than others. Why is that?

Thanks

 

[somasimple]

Simply the number of ions but no relation with electricity since there is no circuit.

 

[Cincinnatus]

This question is not well-defined. We have no quantitative notion of "bioelectric content" that can be applied to people.

At least not outside the video game Deus Ex... ;)

 

[Chaos' lil bro Order]

What do you mean by bioelectric content? Are you talking about the neuronal plexus in the brain and the corresponding neurotransmitters and associated ion channel currents? Certainly, people like Einstein had more neuronal connections which infers more 'circuitry' and thus the amount of associated neurotransmitters and ions needed to facilitate his thoughts throughout his brain would be greater than the average human. Of course if you have a person who weighs 100lb. vs. a person who weighs 300lb., the 300lb. person's body would have more 'bioelectric content' since their nervous system would be larger as required by their larger volume/mass.

Of course its been known for many years via PET scans that concentrating hard uses more glucose in the brain than simply relaxing. We can see this in PET scans because researchers affix a radioactive tag to glucose solution before the scan and the patient drinks it. Then the PET scan picks up the radioactive signature of the glucose as it concentrates itself in various parts of the brain, dependent of course on which part your brain you are using most at the time of the scan.