Novel MRI sensor allows researchers to peek deep inside the brain

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; MA, USA) have developed an MRI-based calcium sensor, which could allow them to peer much deeper into the brain. The study has been published in Nature communications. Calcium imaging in brain cells can reveal how neurons communicate with each other; however, current imaging techniques are only able to penetrate a few millimeters into the brain. Using this new MRI technology, it may be possible to track signaling processes inside the neurons of living animals, enabling them to link neural activity with specific behaviors. “This paper describes the first MRI-based detection of intracellular...