Several groups have been active in simulating reaction-diffusion equations inside the cell. Two main factors motivate simulations of sparks. First, almost all spark images are acquired via a confocal linescan microscope. Most sparks are not precisely in focus and most are not centered exactly on the line being scanned. The second reason is to determine whether sparks are comprised of a single channel opening or multiple channels.
Simulations help in two ways.
This is a region which is currently impossible to resolve via fluorescence microscopy. New Tools for Understanding Their Roles in Neurotransmitter Release , Neuron, vol. Since most sparks are inside the cell, away from the plasma membrane, this approximation is often reasonable. Each buffer or ion in the model typically adds two equations to the system. The system of equations is nonlinear and an iterative method is typically used to determine how the model evolves in time.