Proposed tests of the soliton wave model of action potentials, and of inducible lipid pores, and how non-electrical phenomena might be consistent with the Hodgkin-Huxley model

TL;DR

This paper reviews the soliton wave model of action potentials and induced lipid pores, contrasting them with the Hodgkin-Huxley model, and proposes tests to evaluate these alternative hypotheses about nerve signal mechanisms.

Contribution

It introduces and discusses the soliton wave model and lipid pore hypothesis as alternative explanations for action potentials, suggesting specific tests and highlighting the need for further evidence.

Findings

Soliton wave model accounts for birefringence, heat, and cell expansion phenomena.

Lipid phase transitions may be involved in action potentials, but evidence is inconclusive.

Major paradigm shifts require extensive testing and validation.

Abstract

The soliton wave model of action potentials, and the proposal of induced lipid pores, are potentially paradigm shifting ideas which challenge accepted views of the Hodgkin-Huxley model and of protein-based ion channels. These two proposals are reviewed, and possible tests of each are presented. Also, three key non-electrical features seen during action potentials are reviewed; a shift in birefringence, the pattern of heat emission and absorption, and the expansion of cell diameter. How the soliton wave model uses the lipid phase transition to account for each of these three phenomena is contrasted with alternatives which might be consistent with the Hodgkin-Huxley model of action potentials. It is suggested that changes in membrane potential during the action potential might have a significant effect on membrane proteins and contribute to the production of each of these phenomena. A key assumption of the soliton wave model is that lipid phase transitions are common and adaptive in life. However a review of the literature suggests that often lipid phase transitions are damaging to cells, and so are often avoided. There is a need for clearer evidence as to whether or not neurons actually do have liquid crystalline to gel lipid phase transitions happening in them during action potentials, as the soliton model assumes. Several major paradigm shifts are associated with the soliton wave model, and with the proposal of induced lipid pores, and such large claims require additional testing and a great deal of supportive evidence if they are to achieve broader acceptance.