Confusion over role of current/potential in Nervous system?
Current flow is the movement of charged particles (ions in this case). The membrane potential is the charge difference across the cell membrane. Usually there is more negative charge inside the cell than out, so the membrane potential is said to be negative. When ion channels open, typically positive ions (Na+, K+) will flow into the cell as they are flowing from a medium that is approximately uncharged (extracellular space) into an environment that is highly negatively charged. By analogy, the positive ions can be viewed as water flowing down a gradient (waterfall). Electrical activity is not a flow of electrons per definition, especially not so in nervous tissue where it is ions that move (it is indeed electrons in electric circuits and the likes). During an action potential, therefore, it is not electrons that are moving across the cell membrane, but ions, most notably Na+ and K+, but also Ca+, Cl- among other charged particles.