Spatial Organization and Diffusion in Neuronal Signaling

The intricate architecture of neuronal cells suggests that morphology plays a key role in cellular function. Yet descriptions and analyses of neuronal signaling systems often focus solely on biochemical reaction pathways. Models developed from these data implicitly assume that reactions occur in well mixed homogenous environments with instantaneous diffusion. However, if we have any hope of building truly predictive quantitative models, the intricate geometries and large length scales of neurons compel us to explicitly account for molecular diffusion and spatial organization.