An approach to the current-voltage characteristics of nerve membranes based on adsorption phenomena

Using Stern's double-layer adsorption model for the density of cations in the membrane pores, a quantitative approach to the stationary current-voltage characteristic of nerve membranes is developed. The interaction of mobile cations with the negative fixed charges, located inside the membrane, constitutes a resistance for the current through the membrane. The stepwise increase in the resistance for the hyperpolarization is ascribed to a stronger interaction accompanying a depletion of the adsorbed cations from the interior. Thermodynamic treatment of flows and forces is adapted to the situation, to give a current voltage relation amenable to experimental check. The value of the resting potential thus obtained gives a deviation from Nernst equation applied to the ion for which the membrane is mainly permeable. The effect of the membrane double-layer potential on the potential range in which the transition from low to high resistance takes place, is explicitly incorporated. Finally, a comparison of the theory with the experimental results for the squid axon and frog nerve fibers is made.