Abstract
Using the wealth of the physiological data available from decades of biophysical research in conjunction with more recent biochemical and structural information, new models of sodium channel structure are being proposed, tested, and refined. In addition to unraveling the common structural themes that underlie the general aspects of sodium channel function, increasing attention is also being directed toward subtler differences in structure, which may be responsible for the various subtypes of sodium channels expressed in normal nerve and muscle. The future can be marked by rapid advances in the understanding of both the relationships of structure-to-structure function in this important membrane ion channel and of the various regulatory factors that control its expression.