For example, if I inject 1 uL of drug solution directly to the primary visual cortex, what is the dispersal volume for which I can expect a drug effect?
In this study, radio-labeled dopamine was injected intracerebral (IC) at various volumes into the brainstem and then radioactivity was measured from punches in series of coronal sections at two different time points (1 and 15 min post-injection). Then they plotted the proportion of radioactivity in the lateral, horizontal, and anterior-posterior planes, relative to the injection site.
However, it is still pretty hard to know what is the final concentration of injected drug. You have a volume but it has both celllular and intercellular spaces.