Hodgkin–Huxley: a quantitative model of nerve excitation

What changed

Fitted voltage-clamp measurements with sodium, potassium and leakage currents, then used the resulting equations to predict action potentials and other electrical responses of a squid giant axon.

Scientific scope

Fitted voltage-clamp measurements with sodium, potassium and leakage currents, then used the resulting equations to predict action potentials and other electrical responses of a squid giant axon. Scope limitation: The authors restrict the model to short-term responses of an isolated squid giant axon. Successful predictions do not establish their tentative molecular mechanism. The original voltage convention and temperature dependence matter; the 2019 adaptation is a different rendition. WRS has not rerun the model or reanalyzed the experiments.

Evidence

Assessment uses the catalogue-linked source evidence for the stated contribution. The authors restrict the model to short-term responses of an isolated squid giant axon. Successful predictions do not establish their tentative molecular mechanism. The original voltage convention and temperature dependence matter; the 2019 adaptation is a different rendition. WRS has not rerun the model or reanalyzed the experiments.

Contributors

• A. L. Hodgkin · SCIENCE: Named source contributor; exact labor shares are not measured.
• A. F. Huxley · SCIENCE: Named source contributor; exact labor shares are not measured.

• Hodgkin and Huxley, A quantitative description of membrane current and its application to conduction and excitation in nerve, J. Physiol. 117, 500–544 (1952); DOI 10.1113/jphysiol.1952.sp004764

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-16.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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