| Abstract: | An attempt is made to model sodium channel inactivation based upon real physical processes. The principle involved, which is supported by calculation and by direct appeal to experimental results, is that the gating dipole reversal or gating charge transfer that occurs when the channel is activated, markedly modulates the electrical properties of charged groups at the channel ends. Four examples of possible mechanisms that lead to channel inactivation are described. The simple four-state model that results is able to predict: (a) the steep voltage dependence of the equilibrium inactivation characteristic without the presence of any appreciable displacement current associated with inactivation; (b) the negative shift in membrane voltage of the equilibrium inactivation characteristic relative to the activation characteristic; (c) the bell-shaped dependence of inactivation time constant on membrane voltage; (d) the similarity of the membrane voltage dependence of the time constant of recovery from inactivation, to that of inactivation itself. A brief discussion of a model for sodium channel activation based upon the same physical principle is included. |
