Physics of Nerves and Excitatory Membranes

Thomas Heimburg is Professor for Biophysics at the Niels Bohr Institute of the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), where he is the head of the Membrane Biophysics Group. His research focuses on theoretical and experimental thermodynamics of biological systems, including biomembranes, artificial lipid membranes, and proteins. He is the author of the book Thermal Biophysics of Membranes (Wiley-VCH, 2007).

• Part I: INTRODUCTIONI.1 Early Nerve StudiesI.2 The early period of electrophysiologyI.3 The Hodgkin-Huxley model and beyondI.4 Another line of thoughtI.5 Scope of this book.Part II: THERMODYNAMICSII.1 Fundamental laws in thermodynamicsII.2 Some statistical ThermodynamicsII.3 EntropyII.4 The fluctuation relations.Part III: PROPERTIES OF NERVES.III.1 Structure of nervesIII.2 Electrical properties of nervesIII.3 The dimensions of the nerve pulseIII.4 Mechanical properties of the nerve pulseIII.5 Optical changes during the action potentialIII.6 Heat production and temperature changes during the nerve pulseIII.7 Magnetic fields generated during the action potentialIII.8 Collisions of nerve pulses.Part IV: BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ELECTROPHYSIOLOGYIV.1 Some historical considerationsIV.2 Cable theoryIV.3 Voltage GatingIV.4 The Hodgkin-Huxley modelIV.5 Implications of the Hodgkin-Huxley model.Part V: PROPERTIES OF ARTIFICIAL AND BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANESV.1 Membrane StructureV.2 Membrane MeltingV.3 Phase behavior, domains and raftsV.4 Influence of hydrostatic pressure and lateral pressureV.5 CurvatureV.6 Influence of pH and ionic strengthV.7 Influence of VoltageV.8 Influence of Drugs and proteins.Part VI: FLUCTUATIONS AND SUSCEPTIBILITIES.VI.1 Entropy and fluctuationsVI.2 Heat capacityVI.3 Relation between enthalpy, volume and area changesVI.4 Transitions and elastic constantsVI.5 Sound propagationVI.6 Capacitance and capacitive susceptibilityVI.7 Relaxation timescalesPart VII: THE SOLITON THEORYVII.1 Hydrodynamics and sound propagationVII.2 Sound velocity in nerve membranesVII.3 The frequency dependence of the sound velocityVII.4 The nerve pulse as an electromechanical solitonVII.5 Nerve contraction and pulse trainsVII.6 Excitation of solitonsVII.7 Pulse collisionsVII.8 Pulses on monolayersPart VIII: CHANNELSVIII.1 The permeability of lipid membranesVIII.2 Voltage-gated lipid channelsVIII.3 Mechanosensitive lipid channelsVIII.4 Temperature sensingVIII.5 The influence of drugs on membrane permeability and lipid ion channelsVIII.6 Channel lifetimesVIII.7 Selectivity of lipid channelsVIII.8 Proteins as catalysts for lipid channel formationPart IX: MEDICAL CONSEQUENCESIX.1 AnesthesiaIX.2 AdaptationIX.3 Nerve StretchingIX.4 Tremor and lithiumIX.5 Ultrasound neurostimulation