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Magnetic resonance imaging of neural circuits

Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine volume 5, pages S71–S78 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

A major goal of modern MRI research is to be able to image neural circuits in the central nervous system. Critical to this mission is the ability to describe a number of important parameters associated with neural circuits. These parameters include neural architecture, functional activation of neural circuits, anatomical and functional connectivity of neural circuits, and factors that might alter neural circuits, such as trafficking of immune cells and brain precursor cells in the brain. Remarkably, a variety of work in human and animal brains has demonstrated that all these features of neural circuits can be visualized with MRI. In this Article we provide a brief summary of the new directions in neural imaging research, which should prove useful in future analyses of normal and pathological human brains and in studies of animal models of neurological and psychiatric disorders. At present, few MRI data characterizing the neural circuits in the heart are available, but in this Article we discuss the applicable present developments and the prospects for the future.

Key Points

  • MRI can be sensitized to measure various aspects of neural circuits through the use of endogenous and exogenous contrast agents

  • Intrinsic magnetic-susceptibility contrast in human brain or manganese injection in animal brain can be used to reveal the laminar subdivisions of the cerebral cortex

  • Contrast agents that make use of the processes of water diffusion and of manganese transport allow detection of major fiber tracts

  • MRI-based detection of blood flow fluctuations that result from neuronal activity allows identification of the functional subdivisions of the brain

  • Novel contrast agents allow tracking of stem cells and of infiltration of a variety of organs by immune cells

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Figure 1: Manganese-enhanced MRI enables functional neuroarchitecture to be detected in vivo in a rat brain.
Figure 2: High-resolution in vivo human brain anatomy, imaged using multichannel detectors at 7.0 T and susceptibility contrast using signal magnitude or phase at 25–50 nl resolution.
Figure 3: Spatial patterns of correlated blood-oxygen-level-dependent functional MRI activity in humans during rest.
Figure 4: Injection of manganese chloride into specific brain regions enables MRI of neuronal tracts at the level of the functional units of the brain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. J Duyn and AP Koretsky are Senior Investigators in the Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA.,

    Jeff Duyn & Alan P Koretsky

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Correspondence to Jeff Duyn.

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Duyn, J., Koretsky, A. Magnetic resonance imaging of neural circuits. Nat Rev Cardiol 5 (Suppl 2), S71–S78 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpcardio1248

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