Saturday, May 05, 2018

monitoring brain activity and blood flow

New sensors monitor brain activity and blood flow deeper in the brain and more accurately
April 30, 2018

Magnetic calcium-responsive nanoparticles (dark centers are magnetic cores) respond within seconds to calcium ion changes by clustering (Ca+ ions, right) or expanding (Ca- ions, left), creating a magnetic contrast change that can be detected with MRI, indicating brain activation. (High levels of calcium outside the neurons correlate with low neuron activity; when calcium concentrations drop, it means neurons in that area are firing electrical impulses.) Blue: C2AB “molecular glue” (credit: The researchers) Calcium-based MRI sensor enables high-sensitivity deep brain imaging MIT neuroscientists have developed a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sensor that allows them to monitor neural activity deep within the brain by tracking calcium ions. Calcium ions are directly linked to neuronal firing at high resolution — unlike the changes in blood flow detected by functional … more…
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