The electrical model of the nerve impulse (Hodgkin–Huxley)
Alan HodgkinAndrew HuxleyErwin NeherBert Sakmann
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method
For everyone
Measuring on the giant axon of the squid, Hodgkin and Huxley showed that the nerve impulse (action potential) arises from the movement of sodium and potassium ions across the membrane. The mathematical model they published in 1952 correctly predicted the shape and speed of the signal and remains one of the basic tools of neuroscience. They received the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The ion channels they inferred were measured one by one in 1976.
For specialists
The model consists of four differential equations describing the membrane as a capacitor and the ionic conductances as voltage- and time-dependent variables (the m, h and n gates). Currents measured with the voltage-clamp technique were fitted to these equations. Neher and Sakmann's patch-clamp method made it possible to record picoampere currents through a single ion channel and received the 1991 Nobel Prize.
Claims
- The action potential arises from voltage-dependent, time-varying increases in the membrane's permeability to sodium and potassium.[1]
Evidence
Supporting
The numerical solution of the equations reproduced the shape and conduction speed of the measured action potential closely.[1]
The patch-clamp method measured currents through individual ion channels in muscle membrane, showing that the channels assumed by the model physically exist.[2]
Challenging
—
Connections
Sources
- Article (1952). A quantitative description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in nerve. The Journal of Physiology 117(4), 500–544DOI 10.1113/jphysiol.1952.sp004764archive
- Article (1976). Single-channel currents recorded from membrane of denervated frog muscle fibres. Nature 260, 799–802DOI 10.1038/260799a0archive
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). The electrical model of the nerve impulse (Hodgkin–Huxley). Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/hodgkin-huxley/
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title = {The electrical model of the nerve impulse (Hodgkin–Huxley)},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/hodgkin-huxley/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 28, 2026 · Last changed: September 28, 2026 · Page history