A number of techniques to study ion channels have been developed since
the electrical basis of excitability was first discovered. Ion channel
biophysicists have at their disposal a rich and ever-growing array of
instruments and reagents to explore the biophysical and structural basis
of sodium channel behavior. Armed with these tools, researchers have
made increasingly dramatic discoveries about sodium channels,
culminating most recently in crystal structures of voltage-gated sodium
channels from bacteria. These structures, along with those from other
channels, give unprecedented insight into the structural basis of sodium
channel function. This volume of the Handbook of Experimental
Pharmacology will explore sodium channels from the perspectives of their
biophysical behavior, their structure, the drugs and toxins with which
they are known to interact, acquired and inherited diseases that affect
sodium channels and the techniques with which their biophysical and
structural properties are studied.