How well does a three-sphere model predict positions of dipoles in a realistically shaped head?

The electrical potential produced by a dipole in the temporal or frontal lobe was calculated for a realistically shaped scalp, skull, and brain. This potential distribution was then used with a 3-sphere model to predict the position, orientation, and strength of the dipole source. The original and predicted dipole positions differed by an average of 1.97 cm, with a difference of more than 4 cm in some cases. Control calculations demonstrated that this difference was not caused by numerical artifacts in the computation, but instead was due to a true difference between the 3-sphere and realistically shaped head models.