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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

3D Modeling of Dendritic Spines with Synaptic Plasticity
Published on: May 18, 2020
Continuum simulations of acetylcholine diffusion with reaction-determined boundaries in neuromuscular junction models
Yuhui Cheng1, Jason K Suen, Zoran Radić
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, National Biomedical Computation Resource, University of California-San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0365, USA. ycheng@mccammon.ucsd.edu
Abstract:
The reaction-diffusion system of the neuromuscular junction has been modeled in 3D using the finite element package FEtk. The numerical solution of the dynamics of acetylcholine with the detailed reaction processes of acetylcholinesterases and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors has been discussed with the reaction-determined boundary conditions. The simulation results describe the detailed acetylcholine hydrolysis process, and reveal the time-dependent interconversion of the closed and open states of the acetylcholine receptors as well as the percentages of unliganded/monoliganded/diliganded states during the neuro-transmission. The finite element method has demonstrated its flexibility and robustness in modeling large biological systems.
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