ABSTRACT
Models of ion channel gating are conceptual and/or mathematical constructs designed to reproduce and predict the kinetic and steady-state relationships between the opening/closing processes of a channel (gating, e.g., its open probability Po; see the chapters by Armstrong, Chanda, and Zagotta in this volume) and the relevant stimuli, for instance, membrane potential, ligand concentration, mechanical deformation, and/or temperature. Successful models reproduce the known input-output (I-O) relationships or signal transduction properties of a channel. Such models also predict or simulate the properties of a channel not yet measured and sometimes practically impossible to do so. Consistent with a previously published view,1 icons with multiple colors are not included as models in this chapter.
