Functional MRI using molecular imaging agents

Contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have recently been used as cellular-level probes of neural function. New in vivo labeling strategies now enable researchers to follow plasticity of brain activation patterns and cellular structure over time. On the horizon is the prospect that molecular imaging agents specifically designed for functional imaging (fMRI) on a relatively fast timescale could offer an alternative to conventional hemodynamics-based approaches. Development of several MRI sensors has defined principles by which imaging agents for 'molecular fMRI' can be constructed; application of engineered sensors for cellular-level correlates of neuronal activity would allow researchers to combine the noninvasiveness of MRI with spatial resolution of tens of microns and temporal resolution of 100 ms or less. Facilitated by advances in imaging-agent delivery methods and model systems appropriate for high-resolution neuroimaging, novel molecular imaging strategies continue to potentiate MRI as a tool for mechanistic investigation of neural systems.