Comment on Tamagawa & Ikeda's reinterpretation of the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation. Are transmembrane potentials caused by polarization?

TL;DR

This paper discusses the controversy surrounding Tamagawa & Ikeda's reinterpretation of the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation and explores whether transmembrane potentials are caused by polarization.

Contribution

It critically examines the recent challenge to the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation and its implications for understanding membrane potentials.

Findings

Reevaluation of the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation

Discussion on the role of polarization in membrane potentials

Implications for biomembrane function models

Abstract

The emergence of electrical fields across biological membranes is central to our present understanding of biomembrane function. The most prominent example is the textbook model for the action potential that relies on transmembrane voltage and membrane permeability. In a recent article by Tamagawa & Ikeda , an important underlying concept, the Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation, has been challenged (Tamagawa & Ikeda. 2018, Eur. Biophys. J. doi: 10.1007/s00249-018-1332-0}. This will be discussed below.