A new way to image calcium activity is based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and allows them researchers to peer much deeper into the brain. Using this technique, they can track signaling processes inside the neurons of living animals, enabling them to link neural activity with specific behaviors.

An MRI contrast agent can detect calcium within neurons, allowing brain activity to be tracked. (Credit: MIT)

The researchers used building blocks that can pass through the cell membrane. The contrast agent contains manganese, a metal that interacts weakly with magnetic fields, bound to an organic compound that can penetrate cell membranes. This complex also contains a calcium-binding arm called a chelator.

Once inside the cell, if calcium levels are low, the calcium chelator binds weakly to the manganese atom, shielding the manganese from MRI detection. When calcium flows into the cell, the chelator binds to the calcium and releases the manganese, which makes the contrast agent appear brighter in an MRI image.

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